Biocompatibility of Different Nerve Tubes

Abstract

Bridging nerve gaps with suitable grafts is a major clinical problem. The autologous nerve graft is considered to be the gold standard, providing the best functional results; however, donor site morbidity is still a major disadvantage. Various attempts have been made to overcome the problems of autologous nerve grafts with artificial nerve tubes, which are “ready-to-use” in almost every situation. A wide range of materials have been used in animal models but only few have been applied to date clinically, where biocompatibility is an inevitable prerequisite. This review gives an idea about artificial nerve tubes with special focus on their biocompatibility in animals and humans.

Construction of nerve guide conduits from cellulose/soy protein composite membranes combined with Schwann cells and pyrroloquinoline quinone for the repair of peripheral nerve defect

“…Autologous nerve graft is the "golden standard" to repair the peripheral nerve defects [1,2]. However, autologous nerve graft is limited due to the lack of donator resources and an extra incision to remove a healthy sensory nerve from the donator [3].…”

Enhanced Femoral Nerve Regeneration After Tubulization with a Tyrosine-Derived Polycarbonate Terpolymer: Effects of Protein Adsorption and Independence of Conduit Porosity

“…8 Many naturally existing conduits can be used to bridge nerve gaps, including the vein, artery, muscle, or nerve segments. 9 Autologous nerves are preferred, yet limited availability of donor nerves, donor-site morbidity, and differences in the structure and size of the nerve are thought to limit recovery. 10,11 Complete recovery of motor and sensory nerve functions following an autograft procedure is still less than 50% of treatment cases, indicating the much needed necessity for improvement.…”

“…11,[24][25][26][27] Ongoing issues, such as swelling that can occlude the inner lumen, inappropriate degradation rates, and cytotoxic degradation products, are believed to be associated with inhibiting regeneration. 2,9,[28][29][30] To meet the ongoing need for an optimal material for nerve conduits, we are exploring the library of tyrosinederived polycarbonates. Tyrosine-derived polycarbonates are a combinatorially designed library of over 10,000 distinct polymer compositions.…”

A Biosynthetic Nerve Guide Conduit Based on Silk/SWNT/Fibronectin Nanocomposite for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

“…Therefore, NGCs are developed because of their unavoidable advantages such as minimized suture line tension, increased concentration of endogenous proteins, and the presence of a selective barrier to permit the diffusion of nutritive molecules between the channel and the surrounding tissues [6]–[10]. A large number of materials have been tested to be used in NGCs, including laminin, collagen, poly-glycerol sebacate and polyglycolic acid (PGA) [11], [12]. However, some materials can bridge long gaps successfully and few conduits have the properties that may be expected of an “ideal NGC”.…”