• epithelial cells
• cornea
• contact lens
• bioink
• 3D printing
• growth factor
• wound healing

Corneal injuries as burns, ulcers, and scratches represent potential causes of corneal opacification when not treated correctly, and in turns, corneal opacification represents one of the leading causes of blindness globally. The surgical application of amniotic membranes patches on the damaged cornea is a common practice in ophthalmology to treat such injuries. However, the high thickness and composition variability, as well as the need for surgical procedures to apply it strongly limit its usage. Therefore, in this thesis we developed three epidermal growth factor-eluting contact lenses via 3D bioprinting with the aim to provide a more patient-friendly and customizable potential alternative to the amniotic membrane with a reduced variability in terms of thickness and composition. Three GelMA-based bioinks, namely GelXA, GelMA A, and GelMA, were employed to produce transparent soft contact lenses by means of a combination of SLA and extrusion-based 3D printing approaches.