Microfluidic hollow fiber with improved stiffness repairs peripheral nerve injury through non-invasive electromagnetic induction and controlled release of NGF

Conductive fibers for biomedical applications

“…The degree of orientation of the composite membrane was further improved to 89.3% after stabilization and carbonization. Hollow fibers composed of alginate, polyacrylamide (PA), and PPy were prepared through Ca 2+ ion crosslinking at the intersection of the microfluidic channels followed by UV crosslinking of PA [ 47 ]. The lumen size of the composite fiber could be regulated from ∼0.8 mm to ∼1.2 mm by varying external and internal nozzle diameter, while the wall thickness could be increased from ∼0.1 mm to ∼0.3 mm with varied external and internal flow rate.…”

The fabrication of conductive material-decorated hydrogels for tissue repair

“…3E). 101 Peng et al also designed a novel adaptive microfluidic chip constructed by 3D coaxial printing technology, combining therapeutic protein release, gene delivery, and conductive materials (PPy and GO) in a single microfluidic chip for accelerating nerve regeneration in the skin. 116…”

“…95 Rinoldi et al designed and developed a 3D printable conductive semi-IPN hydrogel, which is useful and versatile for the fabrication of 3D printing conductive biomaterials in the field of neural tissue repair. 96 The conductive hydrogel can be fabricated by various technologies, such as self-assembly, 97 extrusion-based 3D printing, 98 secondary crosslinking assisted extrusion 3D printing, 99 DLP 3D printing, 100 microfluidics, 101 and electrospinning. 102 The above-mentioned techniques further enable the possibility of creating a humid microenvironment with conductive materials for cell growth, making the conductive hydrogel suitable for tissue repair and regeneration.…”

“…3E). 101 Peng et al also designed a novel adaptive microfluidic chip constructed by 3D coaxial printing technology, combining therapeutic protein release, gene delivery, and conductive materials (PPy and GO) in a single microfluidic chip for accelerating nerve regeneration in the skin. 116 Electrospinning conductive fiber scaffolds are favored by researchers in tissue engineering and biomedical applications, attributed to their physical morphology, which promotes good cellular responses, including cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation.…”

The Role of Metals in the Neuroregenerative Action of BDNF, GDNF, NGF and Other Neurotrophic Factors

“…Enzymatically cross-linked silk fibroin-based conduits were also used as a platform for the controlled delivery of NGF [ 53 ]. In another experimental set up NGF was loaded in the size-tunable microfluidic hollow fibers, which was released gradually and promoted a rapid morphological and functional axon regeneration in rats with 5-mm sciatic nerve defects [ 54 ]. All together, these results show that NGF loaded in nerve conduit possesses the capacity of promoting nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injury; however, further studies are required to achieve the best and the perfectly safe therapeutic approach.…”