Manufacturing and Industrial Materials

NRC and the Ottawa Eye Institute are collaborating on research that is leading to a variety of tissue engineering applications, including the development of artificial corneas. Polymer researchers have produced biosynthetic polymer materials that can support and encourage corneal cell growth, including nerve cells. This biosynthetic material acts as a scaffold, supporting cell growth until the "artificial" cornea (shown in this photo) can be transplanted. Such research holds the promise of eliminating the need to transplant healthy human corneas that are in short supply and carry the risk of tissue rejection.