Boston keratoprosthesis (BKPro) is a medical device used to restore vision in patients with corneal blindness. This device is made up of a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) lens and a backplate that is more widely used in the Titanium version. Despite the good retention rates of the BKPro, two main complications compromise patients' vision and the viability of the prosthesis: imperfect adhesion of the corneal tissue to the upper side of the backplate and infections [2-3]. In this work, two topographies were generated and functionalized with a multifunctional peptide platform composed by cRGD and LF1-11 motifs. The biological effect of the coating was evaluated in vitro with human corneal keratocytes (HCKs) and against the gram-negative bacterial strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The physicochemical characterization of the control and the functionalized samples shown qualitatively and quantitively the presence of the peptide. The amount of peptide was higher in the rough topography as expected due to the higher specific surface.

The biological characterization allowed us to test the effect of the cRGD motif in HCKs. In this way, increased spreading was observed in smooth functionalized samples at the initial hours and enhanced long-term proliferation in both topographies. Regarding the gene expression it was probed that the multifunctional coating retains the keratocyte phenotype on smooth surfaces and inhibits the myofibroblast phenotype on rough surfaces.

The antibacterial properties of the LF1-11 motif were probed against P. aeruginosa through live/ dead and SEM studies. Distortions in the morphology as well as cellular debris was observed in the functionalized samples. The rough surface increased the effect of the peptide by showing the best antibacterial effect.