Conducting Polymers for Neural Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Conducting polymers are promising candidates for a myriad of biomedical applications ranging from biosensors to regenerative medicine. In the regenerative concept, the conducting polymers are applied to fabricate scaffolds transmitting the endogenous and exogenous electrical stimuli. Nerve is an electroactive tissue and the application of conductive scaffolds has shown promising results in promoting neural regeneration. Various types of conductive polymers, such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and their derivatives have been evaluated to fabricate conductive neural tissue engineering scaffolds and substrates. It is possible to fabricate scaffolds with different morphologies and architectures from these conductive polymers using different fabricating techniques, such as electrospinning, lyophilization, covalent and ionic cross-linking, and 3D printing techniques. Studies have shown that the integration of conductive scaffolds with the external/exogenous electrical stimuli significantly improves the healing outcomes. The conductive polymers have shown fascinating results in neural tissue engineering, although some of them suffer from toxicity and low processability, which can be eliminated through the proper modification and hybridization with different biocompatible polymers/substances. In this chapter, we introduce the fundamentals of neural tissue engineering, highlight the role of conducting polymers, challenge them, and propose some practical solutions.