Biotecnologia e Biomateriais

Abstrato

The Effect of In-Vivo Collagen Cross-Linking Procedure on the Material of Intracorneal Ring Segments

Haris Sideroudi, Georgios Labiris, Amaia Soto-Beobide, Irfan Perente, Georgios Voyiatzis, Athanassios Chrissanthopoulos, Hanefi Cakir and Vassilios Kozobolis

The material of Intracorneal Rings Segments (ICRS) has seemed to be polymerized after the absorption of Riboflavin and UV illumination in laboratory settings. This study aimed to assess the potential impact of in-vivo corneal crosslinking (CXL) on the chemical composition of ICRS. Within this contex, three ICRS samples (S1, S2 and S3) were extracted from patients' cornea, which formerly had undergone CXL treatment. Alterations on the chemical structure of PMMA rings were studied using Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. An extracted ICRS from a patient who didn’t underwent CXL treatment, was also used as reference (S0). UV-Vis spectroscopy didn't identify any change in the specimens S1, S2 and S3. Nevertheless, FT-IR spectroscopic analysis showed alterations in the spectra of ICRS material of samples S1, S2 and S3, mainly at the 2800 to 3200 cm-1 spectral region [modification in band intensities of CH2 (2850 cm-1 and 2925 cm-1) and CH3 (2950cm-1)]. In conclusion, our results suggest crosslinking reaction in ICRS material after in-vivo CXL treatment. This should be taken into consideration prior to any CXL treatment of post ICRS implanted cornea.