@article {1586158, title = {Toward electron-beam sterilization of a pre-assembled Boston keratoprosthesis}, journal = {Ocul Surf}, volume = {20}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Mar 03}, pages = {176-184}, abstract = {PURPOSE: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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.}, issn = {1937-5913}, doi = {10.1016/j.jtos.2021.02.009}, author = {Sharifi, Sina and Sharifi, Hannah and Guild, Curtis and Islam, Mohammad Mirazul and Tran, Khoa D and Patzer, Corrina and Dohlman, Claes H and Paschalis, Eleftherios I and Gonzalez-Andrades, Miguel and Chodosh, James} }