Journal of International Dental and Medical Research ISSN 1309-100X Collagen-Chitosan-Sodium Hyaluronate Composites http://www.jidmr.com Prihartini Widiyanti and et al Volume ∙ 13 ∙ Number ∙ 3 ∙ 2020 Page 1229 In Vivo Biomaterial Study of Collagen – Chitosan - Sodium Hyaluronate Composite as Artificial Cornea Prihartini Widiyanti 1,2 *, Reni Prastyani 3 , Novi Dwi Widya Rini 1 , Marsya Nilam Kirana 1 , Tri Astutik 1 , Marcellino Rudyanto 4 1. Biomedical Engineering Study Program, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia. 2. Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya , Indonesia. 3. Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga - General Hospital Dr. Soetomo, Surabaya, Indonesia. 4. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia. Abstract The cornea has a function as a protective layer of the eye and transmits light to the eye thus it has the potential to suffer damage. Damage to the cornea can cause blindness besides cataracts. Handling of corneal damage that is executed a lot has a high rate of rejection reaction from the patient's body and the limited number of donors. An alternative effort is created to replace the cornea by creating artificial corneas using different concentrations of sodium hyaluronate added to collagen and chitosan. To find out the results of artificial corneal cytotoxicity test and in vivo characterization in New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) with different concentrations of sodium hyaluronate. Corneal artificially made from sodium hyaluronate with a concentration variation of 0%; 0.3%; 0.6% w / v in collagen 20% w / v and chitosan 10% w / v. Artificial corneas that provide the best results through cytototoxicity testing were implanted in New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Two tails were randomly selected which were divided into 2 groups: negative or untreated groups (G0) and positive groups or implanted cornea (G1 and G2) of the best study results in rabbit eyes. G0 sample (coll-chi without Sodium Hyaluronate) has a cell viability percentage of 93.02632% in the cytotoxicity test, while G1 sample (coll-chi +NaHa 0,3%w/v) has a cell viability level of 74.3342% and a G2 (coll-chi +NaHa 0,6%w/v) sample has 100% cell viability level. In the in vivo test by implanting G2 samples into rabbit eyes, showed no inflammatory results, there was no exudation in the anterior chamber and the centre of vision was clear. However, microscopically, the cornea is artificially the same thickness as the control cornea, producing a suitable stroma structure, and well-developed epithelial cells. All three samples are showed the percentage of cell viability above 70% with the G2 sample (coll-chi +NaHa 0,6%w/v) having the highest percentage in the cytotoxicity test. The G2 (coll-chi +NaHa 0,6%w/v) sample is implied in the rabbit's eye also shows that this corneal is biocompatible through the condition without inflammation and exudation, the corneal implant has same thickness with the control and the epithelial and stroma structure could grow normally same as in control. Experimental article (J Int Dent Med Res 2020; 13(3): 1229-1233) Keywords: Artificial cornea, collagen, chitosan, sodium hyaluronate, in vivo. Received date: 05 April 2020 Accept date: 10 May 2020 Introduction Cornea is the front of the eye and functions as a protective layer in the eye that is translucent thus it is susceptible to damage. Corneal damage is caused due to the lack of nutrition, infection, and trauma. 1 The damage of cornea can be the second leading cause of blindness in the world after cataracts. There are as many as 285 million people who experience blindness in the world. 2 The prevalence of blindness in Indonesia is 3 million people (1.5% of the population). Every minute 1 person goes blind in Indonesia. The most common causes of blindness in Indonesia are Cataracts (0.78%); Glaucoma (0.20%); Refraction Disorders (0.14%); Retinal Disorders *Corresponding author: Prihartini Widiyanti, 1. Biomedical Engineering Study Program, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia. 2. Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya , Indonesia. E-mail: pwidiyanti@fst.unair.ac.id