Amniotic membrane allografts maintain key biological properties post SCCO2 and lyophilization processing

Abstract

Amniotic membrane (AM) has been shown to enhance corneal wound healing due to the abundance of growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins inherent to the tissue. As such, AM has garnered widespread clinical utility as a biological dressing for a number of ophthalmic and soft tissue applications. The preparation, sterilization, and storage procedures used to manufacture AM grafts are extremely important for the conservation of inherent biological components within the membrane. Current processing techniques use harsh chemicals and sterilization agents that can compromise the fundamental wound healing properties of AM. Furthermore, commercially available cryopreserved AM products require specific storage conditions (e.g., ultra-low freezers) thereby limiting their clinical availability in austere environments. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) technology allows for the sterilization of biological tissues without the resulting degradation of integral ECM proteins and other factors often seen with current tissue sterilization processes. With this study we demonstrate that lyophilized AM, sterilized using SCCO2, maintains similar biochemical properties and biocompatibility as that of commercially available AM products requiring specialized cold storage conditions.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2020
Source ID
10.1177/0885328220952585

Entities

People

  • Anthony J. Johnson
  • David O. Zamora
  • Jennifer L. Wehmeyer
  • Jennifer S. McDaniel
  • Lauren E. Cornell

Organizations

  • United States Army Institute of Surgical Research
  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Readers

  • Environmental Engineering.
  • Trauma Surgery or Emergency Medicine.