Functional scaffolds design strategies for retinal repair and regeneration

Abstract

The growing strain placed on both society and the healthcare system due to an ageing population should not be underestimated. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness worldwide and is projected to affect 288 million people globally by 2040. Current treatment options for AMD primarily focus on disease management rather than offering a definitive cure. Retinal tissue engineering, which aims to develop targeted regenerative strategies to restore or replace damaged retinal tissues, offers pioneering advances that could provide curative solutions for AMD and revolutionize its therapeutic landscape. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of biomaterial strategies for retinal repair and regeneration, with a particular focus on scaffold design. To effectively address the underlying causes of retinal degenerative diseases and develop functional scaffolds, the review examines the retinal anatomy, the vision-impairing diseases associated with degeneration and relevant cell types. Building on this foundation, it further discusses various scaffold design strategies, including the selection of biomaterials, the structural and mechanical mimicry of native tissues, and the fabrication of scaffolds for co-culturing. Beyond current strategies, we also explore potential features, such as electrically conductive and photo-responsiveness, that could shape the future of scaffold design in retina tissue engineering. Collectively, these insights provide a robust framework to drive and accelerate the next generation of scaffold development for retinal tissue engineering.