Miss Najwa Abdulkadir

Research project: Growth of lens cells on structured surfaces

Abstract

The lens is a biological structure that is surrounded by the capsule. It consists of epithelial cells that are responsible for the growth and development of the entire ocular lens (Andley, 2008).The tissue of the lens has the ability to grow throughout the life cycle however, the pattern of growth in the embryo is greater than it is in adults. Additionally, cell division in the human lens occurs only in limited lens cells (Andley, 2008). The addition of new cells to the outside of the lens causes the lens growth however, the lens nucleus cells do not change since birth ( Hughes, et al., 2015). Therefore, any damaged lens cells are not replaced.

The lens cells could be damaged due to environmental factors such as exposure to radiation, aging (presbyopia), diseases (Aphakia, Ectopia lentis, Lens regeneration, etc), chemical exposure, etc.

This results in decreasing the light transmission and focusing into the retina even in the normal aged lens. The damaged lens could be replaced surgically, however, this can cause abnormal growth of the leftover cells that might cause the replacement to be incompetent.