Abstract：
Corneal blindness can be treated by keratoplasty but a lack of readily available corneal donor tissue for this procedure remains a challenge. Cryopreservation can facilitate the long-term storage of tissue but effective protocols for cryopreserving cornea have yet to be developed. Mathematical modelling can guide protocol design, but previously used models are not comprehensive. A comprehensive model should describe the tissue\'s shrink-swell response and the cryoprotectant concentration throughout the tissue during cryoprotectant loading. Such a model exists for articular cartilage based on a biomechanical triphasic approach. We explored the applicability of this model for describing cryoprotectant permeation in porcine corneas by fitting it to experimental data for the permeation of dimethyl sulfoxide into porcine corneoscleral discs. The model provided as good of a fit for corneoscleral discs data as it did for articular cartilage data, presenting promise for its use in the design of cryopreservation protocols for corneas.
摘要：
角膜盲症可以通过角膜移植术治疗，但缺乏可用于该手术的容易获得的角膜供体组织仍然是一个挑战。冷冻保存可以促进组织的长期储存，但是冷冻保存角膜的有效方案尚未开发。数学建模可以指导协议设计，但是以前使用的模型并不全面。一个全面的模型应该描述在冷冻保护剂加载过程中组织的收缩-膨胀反应和整个组织的冷冻保护剂浓度。基于生物力学三相方法的关节软骨存在这样的模型。我们通过将其拟合到二甲基亚砜向猪角膜巩膜盘渗透的实验数据，探索了该模型用于描述猪角膜中冷冻保护剂渗透的适用性。该模型提供的角膜巩膜盘数据与关节软骨数据一样适合，为其在角膜冷冻保存方案设计中的应用提供了希望。
