Toward electron-beam sterilization of a pre-assembled Boston keratoprosthesis

To evaluate the effects of electron-beam (E-beam) irradiation on the human cornea and the potential for E-beam sterilization of Boston keratoprosthesis (BK) devices when pre-assembled with a donor cornea prior to sterilization.

Human donor corneas and corneas pre-assembled in BK devices were immersed in recombinant human serum albumin (rHSA) media and E-beam irradiated at 25 kGy. Mechanical (tensile strength and modulus, and compression modulus), chemical, optical, structural, and degradation properties of the corneal tissue after irradiation and after 6 months of preservation were evaluated.

The mechanical evaluation showed that E-beam irradiation enhanced the tensile and compression moduli of human donor corneas, with no impact on their tensile strength. By chemical and mechanical analysis, E-beam irradiation caused a minor degree of crosslinking between collagen fibrils. No ultrastructural changes due to E-beam irradiation were observed. E-beam irradiation slightly increased the stability of the cornea against collagenase-induced degradation and had no impact on glucose diffusion. The optical evaluation showed transparency of the cornea was maintained. E-beam irradiated corneal tissues and BK-cornea pre-assembled devices were stable for 6 months after room-temperature preservation.

E-beam irradiation generated no detrimental effects on the corneal tissues or BK-cornea pre-assembled devices and improved native properties of the corneal tissue, enabling prolonged preservation at room temperature. The pre-assembly of BK in a donor cornea, followed by E-beam irradiation, offers the potential for an off-the-shelf, ready to implant keratoprosthesis device.