Objective: To observe the biocompatibility of the acellular corneal stroma materials prepared by three different methods.
Methods: Three different serial digestion methods were used to produce the acellular corneal stroma materials. The biocompatibility of the materials was investigated by the cell seeding and the materials were implanted into the rabbit corneal stroma layer.
Results: The cells in the materials 1 and 2 were not decellularized completely. The rabbit corneal fibroblasts died on the materials 1 and 2 after the cell seeding for 3-4 days. An obvious rejection could be observed after the implantation. The cells in material 3 were decellularized completely and the collagen fibers or elastic fibers were reserved integrally, showing a typical three-dimensional network. The rabbit corneal fibroblasts could expand on the materials in vitro. No obvious rejection could be observed and the materials were gradually absorbed.
Conclusion: The acellular porcine cornea stroma materials prepared by trypsin-Dnase-Rnase are suitable for reconstruction of the tissue engineered cornea.