Novel spiral structured nerve guidance conduits with multichannels and inner longitudinally aligned nanofibers for peripheral nerve regeneration

Munish B. Shah, Wei Chang, Gan Zhou, Joseph S. Glavy, Thomas M. Cattabiani, Xiaojun Yu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) are artificial substitutes for autografts, which serve as the gold standard in treating peripheral nerve injury. A recurring challenge in tissue engineered NGCs is optimizing the cross-sectional surface area to achieve a balance between allowing nerve infiltration while supporting maximum axonal extension from the proximal to distal stump. In this study, we address this issue by investigating the efficacy of an NGC with a higher cross-sectional surface composed of spiral structures and multi-channels, coupled with inner longitudinally aligned nanofibers and protein on aiding nerve repair in critical sized nerve defect. The NGCs were implanted into 15-mm-long rat sciatic nerve injury gaps for 4 weeks. Nerve regeneration was assessed using an established set of assays, including the walking track analysis, electrophysiological testing, pinch reflex assessment, gastrocnemius muscle measurement, and histological assessment. The results indicated that the novel NGC design yielded promising data in encouraging nerve regeneration within a relatively short recovery time. The performance of the novel NGC for nerve regeneration was superior to that of the control nerve conduits with tubular structures.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1410-1419
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Biomedical Materials Research - Part B Applied Biomaterials
Volume107
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2019

Keywords

  • collagen
  • haptotactic cues
  • nerve guidance conduit
  • peripheral nerve repair
  • sciatic nerve

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