An ex vivo cornea infection model

Uloma Ubani-Ukoma; Anuj Chauhan; Gregory Schultz; Daniel J Gibson

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2020.100876

An ex vivo cornea infection model

MethodsX. 2020 Apr 7:7:100876. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2020.100876. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Uloma Ubani-Ukoma¹, Anuj Chauhan², Gregory Schultz³, Daniel J Gibson³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutics & Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
² Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, United States.
³ Institute for Wound Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States.

Abstract

In vitro screening and testing of drugs and devices is necessary, but in vitro conditions differ greatly from those found in vivo. These differences can lead to false promises of efficacy, or can hide problems of tissue compatibility. Models with ex vivo tissues can be highly valuable bridges which provide relevant matrices for testing [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. Ex vivo tissue models which are closer both biochemically and biophysically can provide useful feedback in a more time- and cost-efficient manner. Herein we describe an ex vivo corneal model for use in drug delivery testing and corneal infection modeling [10]. The protocol covers the tissue harvesting, sterilization, inoculation, and bacterial load quantification. We envision that the model can be used to study bacterial physiology on metabolizable matrices and to study the direct effects of microbial colonization on the cornea's integrity and clarity.•Devitalized cornea.•Non-submersed conditions.•Contact lens compatible.

Keywords: Bacterial keratitis; Ex vivo tissue models; Native matrix models; Ocular drug delivery.