Scaffolds For Nerve Tissue Engineering Research Articles

Electrospun polycaprolactone/chitosan scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering: physicochemical characterization and Schwann cell biocompatibility

Electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL)/chitosan (CH) blend scaffolds with different CH weight ratios were prepared to study the effect of scaffold composition on its physicochemical and biological properties. Scanning electron microscopy showed bead-free homogeneous randomly arranged nanofibers whose average diameter decreased from 240 to 110 nm with increasing CH content. The infrared spectra of the PCL/CH blends were very similar to the neat PCL scaffold. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen in the scaffolds, although fluorine—from chemicals used as solvent—was also detected. The water contact angle decreased from 113° (for PCL) to 52° with increasing chitosan content. The biocompatibility was evaluated using fibroblasts and Schwann cell (SC) cultures. Cytotoxicity assays using fibroblasts demonstrated that electrospun scaffolds could be considered as non-cytotoxic material. Biocompatibility tests also revealed that the SCs adhered to scaffolds with different CH content, although the formulation containing CH at 5 wt% exhibited the highest proliferation on days 1 and 3. A better cell distribution was observed in the CH/PCL blends than in the neat PCL or CH scaffolds, where the cells were clustered. Immunochemistry analysis confirmed that SCs expressed the specific p75 cell marker on the scaffolds, suggesting that PCL/CH scaffolds would be good candidates for peripheral nerve tissue engineering.

Preparation of polypyrrole-embedded electrospun poly(lactic acid) nanofibrous scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering.

Polypyrrole (PPy) is a biocompatible polymer with good conductivity. Studies combining PPy with electrospinning have been reported; however, the associated decrease in PPy conductivity has not yet been resolved. We embedded PPy into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanofibers via electrospinning and fabricated a PLA/PPy nanofibrous scaffold containing 15% PPy with sustained conductivity and aligned topography. There was good biocompatibility between the scaffold and human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells as well as Schwann cells. Additionally, the direction of cell elongation on the scaffold was parallel to the direction of fibers. Our findings suggest that the aligned PLA/PPy nanofibrous scaffold is a promising biomaterial for peripheral nerve regeneration.

Graphene oxide-incorporated PLGA/RGD peptide nanofiber matrices for enhanced neuronal differentiation of mouse hippocampal (HT-22) cells

Event Abstract Back to Event Graphene oxide-incorporated PLGA/RGD peptide nanofiber matrices for enhanced neuronal differentiation of mouse hippocampal (HT-22) cells Yong Cheol Shin1, Jong Ho Lee1, Sung Eun Kim1, Jin Su Kim1, Suck Won Hong1, Jin-Woo Oh2 and Dong-Wook Han1 1 Pusan National University, Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, Korea 2 Pusan National University, Department of Nanoenergy Engineering, Korea During the last decade, there have been many efforts to develop biomimetic scaffolds for promoting nerve tissue regeneration. Herein, graphene oxide (GO)-incorporated nanofiber matrices composed of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid, PLGA) and RGD peptide nanofibers (GO- PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices) were fabricated by electrospinning. PLGA is one of the extensively used biodegradable polymer due to its outstanding biocompatibility, good solubility in organic solvents and suitable physicochemical properties for biomimetic scaffolds[1]. RGD peptide, a tripeptide (Arg-Gly-Asp) found within fibronectin, is a recognition motif for integrin that plays an important role in the cell adhesion. The RGD peptides were successfully hybridized with PLGA by using RGD peptide-displaying M13 phages. The M13 phage is a bacterial virus with a nanofiber-like structure and non-toxic to human and mammalian cell. In addition, desired proteins can be displayed on the surface of M13 phage by genetic engineering[2]. Therefore, RGD peptide-displaying M13 phages were used to fabricate the PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices. Additionally, GO was incorporated into the PLGA/RGD nanofiber for promoting neuronal differentiation. GO is oxidized graphene and has excellent biocompatibility. In particular, it has been reported that the GO can stimulate the differentiation of neural stem cells, as well as various types of cells[3]. We characterized the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and contact angle measurement. The SEM images showed that the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices have an analogous structure to the natural extracellular matrix. The FT-IR spectra of the matrices revealed that the GO and RGD were uniformly distributed in the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices. Additionally, the surface hydrophilicity of the matrices was increased by adding RGD peptide and GO. In addition, the HT-22 cell behaviors including initial adhesion, proliferation and differentiation on the matrices were evaluated. The initial adhesion and proliferation of HT-22 cells were significantly enhanced on the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices. Moreover, on the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices, the neuronal differentiation of HT-22 cells was stimulated and promoted, which corroborated by immunofluorescence staining for the neurofilaments. These results can be attributed to the incorporation of GO and RGD peptides. The RGD peptide on the matrices enhanced the initial adhesion and proliferation and GO stimulated the neuronal differentiation of HT-22 cells. Therefore, it is proved that the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices are suitable tissue engineering scaffolds for promoting not only initial adhesion and proliferation but also the neuronal differentiation of HT-22 cells. Our results demonstrate that the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices are remarkably biocompatible and can effectively promote neuronal differentiation of HT-22 cells. In conclusion, it is suggested that the GO-PLGA/RGD nanofiber matrices can be employed as biomimetic scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering and regeneration. This study was supported by grants of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (No. HI14C0522)

Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Novel Porous Conductive Scaffolds for Nerve Tissue Engineering

Highly conductive polypyrrole/graphene (PYG) nanocomposite was synthesized with chemical oxidation process via emulsion polymerization and used for the preparation of novel porous conductive gelatin/chitosan-based scaffolds. The effect of PYG loading on various properties of scaffolds was investigated. The obtained results indicated that by introducing PYG into the polymeric matrix, the porosity and swelling capacity decreased while electrical conductivity and Young's modulus demonstrated increasing trend. The in vitro biodegradation test revealed that pure gelatin/chitosan matrix lost 80% of its weight after six weeks in the presence of lysozyme whilst the biodegradation rate was significantly lower for the conductive scaffolds. Furthermore, Schwann cell attachment and proliferation were evaluated by MTT assay and SEM image and the results revealed significant cell biocompatibility of the conductive scaffold with low amount of PYG. The results confirmed the potential of gelatin/chitosan/PYG compounding as a suitable biomaterial for using in nerve tissue engineering applications in which electrical stimulation plays a vital role.

Fabrication and characterization of conductive chitosan/gelatin-based scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering

This paper reports on the development of conductive porous scaffolds by incorporating conductive polyaniline/graphene (PAG) nanoparticles into a chitosan/gelatin matrix for its potential application in peripheral nerve regeneration. The effect of PAG content on the various properties of the scaffold is investigated and the results showed that the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties increased proportional to the increase in the PAG loading, while the porosity, swelling ratio and in vitro biodegradability decreased. In addition, the biocompatibility was evaluated by assessing the adhesion and proliferation of Schwann cells on the prepared scaffolds using SEM and MTT assay, respectively. In summary, this work supports the use of a porous conductive chitosan/gelatin/PAG scaffold with a low amount of PAG (2.5wt.%) as a suitable material having proper conductivity, mechanical properties and biocompatibility that may be appropriate for different biomedical applications such as scaffold material in tissue engineering for neural repair or other biomedical devices that require electroactivity.

Preparation of conductive polyaniline/graphene nanocomposites via in situ emulsion polymerization and product characterization

This work, which is a part of our ongoing studies on developing conductive scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering, reports synthesis of highly conductive binary-doped polyaniline nanoparticles and polyaniline/graphene nanocomposites. The samples were synthesized through chemical oxidation of aniline via in situ emulsion polymerization method in presence of hydrochloric acid and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Graphene nanosheets were also prepared via modified Hummer's method followed by chemical reduction using hydrazine monohydrate. Electrical conductivity measurements using a standard four-point probe technique with FTIR and UV–vis studies revealed that conductive binary-doped emeraldine salt polyaniline had been successfully produced. The results also showed that incorporation of less than 1wt.% of graphene nanosheets into polymeric matrix had improved electrical conductivity of polyaniline from 2 to 7Scm−1. The SEM micrographs illustrated that the synthesized polyaniline had spherical morphology with particle size of 10–15nm. The results of the investigated thermal properties showed that binary doping process and also incorporation of graphene into polymeric matrix had improved thermal stability of polyaniline main chains. Finally, this work supported proper morphological, electrical, and thermal properties of prepared PANI/graphene nanocomposites and their potential use in different biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, biosensor, controlled drug delivery systems, and surface coating.

Fabrication, characterization and cellular compatibility of poly(hydroxy alkanoate) composite nanofibrous scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering.

Tissue engineering techniques using a combination of polymeric scaffolds and cells represent a promising approach for nerve regeneration. We fabricated electrospun scaffolds by blending of Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and Poly (3-hydroxy butyrate-co-3- hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) in different compositions in order to investigate their potential for the regeneration of the myelinic membrane. The thermal properties of the nanofibrous blends was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which indicated that the melting and glass temperatures, and crystallization degree of the blends decreased as the PHBV weight ratio increased. Raman spectroscopy also revealed that the full width at half height of the band centered at 1725 cm−1 can be used to estimate the crystalline degree of the electrospun meshes. Random and aligned nanofibrous scaffolds were also fabricated by electrospinning of PHB and PHBV with or without type I collagen. The influence of blend composition, fiber alignment and collagen incorporation on Schwann cell (SCs) organization and function was investigated. SCs attached and proliferated over all scaffolds formulations up to 14 days. SCs grown on aligned PHB/PHBV/collagen fibers exhibited a bipolar morphology that oriented along the fiber direction, while SCs grown on the randomly oriented fibers had a multipolar morphology. Incorporation of collagen within nanofibers increased SCs proliferation on day 14, GDNF gene expression on day 7 and NGF secretion on day 6. The results of this study demonstrate that aligned PHB/PHBV electrospun nanofibers could find potential use as scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering applications and that the presence of type I collagen in the nanofibers improves cell differentiation.

Fabrication of Silk Fibroin/P(LLA‐CL) Aligned Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Nerve Tissue Engineering

AbstractAligned nanofibers are an attractive option in neural tissue engineering due to providing topographic cues for cell and axonal growth. Aligned and radom 25:75 wt% silk fibroin/poly[(L‐lactic acid)‐co‐(ε‐caprolactone)] nanofibrous scaffolds are fabricated via electrospinning. The mechanical properties of aligned scaffolds present a strong anisotropy, with much higher tensile strength in parallel than in perpendicular direction. Schwann cell viability studies show that aligned scaffolds significantly promote cell growth and the direction of SC elongation is parallel to the direction of fibers for aligned scaffolds. These results suggest that aligned nanofibrous scaffolds might be potential candidates for nerve tissue engineering.magnified image

A Novel Fluffy Conductive Polypyrrole Nano-Layer Coated PLLA Fibrous Scaffold for Nerve Tissue Engineering

In this study, a novel three-dimensional fluffy PPy conductive fibrous scaffold (3D-cFSs) was fabricated by electrospinning technique combined with situ surface polymerization. Chemical compositions, morphology were characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the average diameter of PPy coated PLLA fibers in the 3D-cFSs was 2.086 microm, the thickness of PPy nano-layer was -45 nm. These PPy coated PLLA fibers were in discrete state, the size of interconnected pores in the 3D-cFSs was from 50 microm to 100 microm, this unique structure ensured that cells can entry into internal of 3D-cFSs smoothly without any other extra help to achieve three-dimensional cell culture (3D-culture). Rat pheochromocytoma 12 (PC12) cells (as model cell) were cultured in the 3D-cFSs to evaluate its potential application for nerve tissue engineering. The interaction between cell and scaffold was test by detecting the cell proliferation, viability, and morphology. After 3 days culture, the number of PC12 in 3D-cFSs were much higher than that on the conductive fibrous meshes (cFMs) and well developed cell-fibers constructs were observed from fluorescence image and SEM of PC12 in the central of 3D-cFSs. These results showed that the 3D-cFSs provided cell 3D-culture, and improved cell growth. Therefore, we suggest that the 3D-cFSs maybe a suitable scaffold for the nerve tissue engineering as cells substrate to apply electrical stimulation.

The influence of substrate stiffness on the behavior and functions of Schwann cells in culture

Solid tissues in the body possess a range of stiffness and provide cells with an instructive microenvironment. Scaffolds in tissue engineering should be rationally designed to become an adhesion substrate friendly to cells. Schwann cells are the principal glial cell in the peripheral nervous system and used as support cells for generating tissue-engineered nerve grafts. Although an important mechanical cue, substrate stiffness, has been documented to make significant effects on many types of cells cultured on the substrate, such a study for Schwann cells is still lacking. In this study, we investigated cell adhesion, survival, proliferation, migration, cytoskeleton, and neurotrophic actions of Schwann cells cultured on polyacrylamide gel substrates with different stiffness, and determined an optimal elastic modulus value for these substrates. Our data not only highlight the importance of substrate stiffness in the crosstalk between Schwann cells and surrounding microenvironment, but also introduce a new parameter, in addition to biocompatibility, biodegradability, and neuroaffinity, for designing scaffolds in nerve tissue engineering.

Electrospun bio‐composite P(LLA‐CL)/collagen I/collagen III scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering

One of the biggest challenges in peripheral nerve tissue engineering is to create an artificial nerve graft that could mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) and assist in nerve regeneration. Bio-composite nanofibrous scaffolds made from synthetic and natural polymeric blends provide suitable substrate for tissue engineering and it can be used as nerve guides eliminating the need of autologous nerve grafts. Nanotopography or orientation of the fibers within the scaffolds greatly influences the nerve cell morphology and outgrowth, and the alignment of the fibers ensures better contact guidance of the cells. In this study, poly (L-lactic acid)-co-poly(ε-caprolactone) or P(LLA-CL), collagen I and collagen III are utilized for the fabrication of nanofibers of different compositions and orientations (random and aligned) by electrospinning. The morphology, mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of the electrospun scaffolds along with their biocompatibility using C17.2 nerve stem cells are studied to identify the suitable material compositions and topography of the electrospun scaffolds required for peripheral nerve regeneration. Aligned P(LLA-CL)/collagen I/collagen III nanofibrous scaffolds with average diameter of 253 ± 102 nm were fabricated and characterized with a tensile strength of 11.59 ± 1.68 MPa. Cell proliferation studies showed 22% increase in cell proliferation on aligned P(LLA-CL)/collagen I/collagen III scaffolds compared with aligned pure P(LLA-CL) scaffolds. Results of our in vitro cell proliferation, cell-scaffold interaction, and neurofilament protein expression studies demonstrated that the electrospun aligned P(LLA-CL)/collagen I/collagen III nanofibrous scaffolds mimic more closely towards the ECM of nerve and have great potential as a substrate for accelerated regeneration of the nerve.

Perspectives on Carbon Nanotube-Based Scaffolds in Nerve Tissue Engineering

To improve the health and quality of life of patients suffering from neural degeneration diseases or brain and spinal cord injuries, much research has been dedicated to the repairing and regeneration of neural tissues. Although allogenic grafts have no supply limitation, they often cause undesirable immune responses. Thus, autologous grafts are usually used to treat neural defects. However, the short life of nerves and a mismatch of nerve cable dimension between the donor graft and the receptor nerve limit its clinical applications. Nerve tissue engineering has emerged as a highly promising alternative strategy to neural therapy, aimed at rebuilding the lesioned circuits of the central and peripheral nervous systems, while minimizing body’s immune responses with engineered nerves.

Surface modification of electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds via polysaccharide–protein assembly multilayer for neurite outgrowth

In this study, we present a simple yet efficient method to modify polyester electrospun fibrous scaffolds by polysaccharide–protein multilayer formation based on electrostatic interactions. Chitosan (CS) and gelatin (Gel) was selected as the polycation and polyanion, respectively, to build polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) on poly-L-lactide (PLLA) electrospun fibers via layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique. A positively charged surface was first created via the aminolysis reaction of esters in the PLLA backbone by poly(ethylene imine) (PEI), followed by consequent alternate deposition of Gel and CS. FTIR and XPS measurements confirmed alternative coating of Gel and CS, while SEM observation indicated that the scaffolds maintained the porous and fibrous morphology during PEM development. IMARIS software, which was extensively employed to reconstruct 3D images, was employed to visualize the architecture of neuronal networks and neurite development of single neurons. Our results indicated that the PEM-modification significantly enhanced cell–matrix interactions by improving cell viability and neurite outgrowth. Significantly more branches and longer neurites were obtained on Gel/CS PEM-coated fibrous scaffolds than PLLA fibrous scaffold and those after Gel or CS monolayer modification. Moreover, the component of the outermost layer showed influence on neuron growth in terms of higher cell viability as well as more branches and longer neurites being obtained on Gel-outermost coated fibrous scaffolds than those outermost coated with CS. The current study indicated that the polysaccharide–protein assembly multilayer could be employed to modify the surface of polyester fibers, thus providing a new strategy to fabricate biomimetic scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering.

Carbon‐Nanofibers‐Based Micro‐/Nanodevices for Neural‐Electrical and Neural‐Chemical Interfaces

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) have shown great potentials for development of micro‐/nanodevices for neural interfaces due to their suitable properties, such as chemical stability, good electrical conductivity, ultramicro size with low electrical impedance, 3D structures with high surface‐to‐volume ratio, and long‐term biocompatibility. In this paper, we review the applications of CNFs as neural‐electrical interfaces and neural‐chemical interfaces for neural recording and stimulation, electroconductive nanofibrous scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering, drug and gene delivery, and neurochemical sensing. The CNFs‐based micro‐/nanodevices provide new platforms to fine‐tune electrical and chemical cues of neurons at subcellular nanoscale, which can be used for both fundamental studies of material‐cell interactions and the development of chronically stable, implantable neural interface devices. Further development of this technology may potentially enable a highly multiplex closed‐loop system with multifunctions for neuromodulation and neuroprostheses.

In vitro biocompatibility assessment of a novel PRGD/PDLLA/NGF composite material

The objective of this study was to evaluate the degradability and biocompatibility of a novel composite materials which was grafted with RGD and immobilized with NGF(PRGD/PDLLA/NGF). The releasing of NGF, the biodegradability and cell-biocompatibility of PRGD/PDLLA/NGF membrane were evaluated in vitro. The experimental results showed that the NGF release process was prolonged over 30 days. Furthermore, the PRGD/PDLLA/NGF showed a better hydrophilicity, better biodegradation properties and cells affinity than PDLLA, which means a good support to adhesion and proliferate of Schwann cells. Therefore, the novel composite material holds considerable promise as scaffolds in nerve tissue engineering.

Application of conductive polymers, scaffolds and electrical stimulation for nerve tissue engineering

Among the numerous attempts to integrate tissue engineering concepts into strategies to repair nearly all parts of the body, neuronal repair stands out. This is partially due to the complexity of the nervous anatomical system, its functioning and the inefficiency of conventional repair approaches, which are based on single components of either biomaterials or cells alone. Electrical stimulation has been shown to enhance the nerve regeneration process and this consequently makes the use of electrically conductive polymers very attractive for the construction of scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering. In this review, by taking into consideration the electrical properties of nerve cells and the effect of electrical stimulation on nerve cells, we discuss the most commonly utilized conductive polymers, polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI), along with their design and modifications, thus making them suitable scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering. Other electrospun, composite, conductive scaffolds, such as PANI/gelatin and PPy/poly(ε-caprolactone), with or without electrical stimulation, are also discussed. Different procedures of electrical stimulation which have been used in tissue engineering, with examples on their specific applications in tissue engineering, are also discussed.

Electrospun PLGA–silk fibroin–collagen nanofibrous scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering

Electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds varying different materials are fabricated for tissue engineering. PLGA, silk fibroin, and collagen-derived scaffolds have been proved on good biocompatibility with neurons. However, no systematic studies have been performed to examine the PLGA-silk fibroin-collagen (PLGA-SF-COL) biocomposite fiber matrices for nerve tissue engineering. In this study, different weight ratio PLGA-SF-COL (50:25:25, 30:35:35) scaffolds were produced via electrospinning. The physical and mechanical properties were tested. The average fiber diameter ranged from 280 + 26 to 168 + 21 nm with high porosity and hydrophilicity; the tensile strength was 1.76 ± 0.32 and 1.25 ± 0.20 Mpa, respectively. The results demonstrated that electrospinning polymer blending is a simple and effective approach for fabricating novel biocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds. The properties of the scaffolds can be strongly influenced by the concentration of collagen and silk fibroin in the biocomposite. To assay the cytocompatibility, Schwann cells were seeded on the scaffolds; cell attachment, growth morphology, and proliferation were studied. SEM and MTT results confirmed that PLGA-SF-COL scaffolds particularly the one that contains 50% PLGA, 25% silk fibroin, and 25% collagen is more suitable for nerve tissue engineering compared to PLGA nanofibrous scaffolds.

In Vivo Evaluation of Polysialic Acid as Part of Tissue-Engineered Nerve Transplants

With the aim to develop new biomaterials for peripheral nerve grafts, the current study used bioidentical polysialic acid (polySia) as complement in synthetic conduits. polySia provides an important guidance cue during nervous system development and regeneration. First in vivo results on the use of cell-free and Schwann cell-containing synthetic peripheral nerve grafts complemented with soluble exogenous K1-polySia are presented. Reconstructing 10 mm rat sciatic nerve gaps, K1-polySia complementation significantly improved structural nerve regeneration in comparison to cell-free and K1-polySia-free grafts. Subsequently, long nerve gaps (13 mm) were reconstructed by Schwann cell transplants plus K1-polySia and compared to nerve autotransplantation. Structural but also functional regeneration could be observed using K1-polySia transplants; however, autotransplantation was still significantly more successful. Overall, the current study demonstrates that exogenous K1-polySia has no negative but rather regeneration promoting effects. This is important novel evidence on the applicability of exogenous polySia in vivo. Further studies are required to develop solid three-dimensional polySia-based scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering. Biocompatible and assessable biodegrading materials will ensure long-lasting presence of polySia to allow its applicability and prolonged efficacy in the slow regenerating scenario of human peripheral nerve reconstruction.

Bio-functionalized PCL nanofibrous scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering

Surface properties of scaffolds such as hydrophilicity and the presence of functional groups on the surface of scaffolds play a key role in cell adhesion, proliferation and migration. Different modification methods for hydrophilicity improvement and introduction of functional groups on the surface of scaffolds have been carried out on synthetic biodegradable polymers, for tissue engineering applications. In this study, alkaline hydrolysis of poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibrous scaffolds was carried out for different time periods (1 h, 4 h and 12 h) to increase the hydrophilicity of the scaffolds. The formation of reactive groups resulting from alkaline hydrolysis provides opportunities for further surface functionalization of PCL nanofibrous scaffolds. Matrigel was attached covalently on the surface of an optimized 4 h hydrolyzed PCL nanofibrous scaffolds and additionally the fabrication of blended PCL/matrigel nanofibrous scaffolds was carried out. Chemical and mechanical characterization of nanofibrous scaffolds were evaluated using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, contact angle, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile measurement. In vitro cell adhesion and proliferation study was carried out after seeding nerve precursor cells (NPCs) on different scaffolds. Results of cell proliferation assay and SEM studies showed that the covalently functionalized PCL/matrigel nanofibrous scaffolds promote the proliferation and neurite outgrowth of NPCs compared to PCL and hydrolyzed PCL nanofibrous scaffolds, providing suitable substrates for nerve tissue engineering.

Development of biomaterial scaffold for nerve tissue engineering: Biomaterial mediated neural regeneration

Neural tissue repair and regeneration strategies have received a great deal of attention because it directly affects the quality of the patient's life. There are many scientific challenges to regenerate nerve while using conventional autologous nerve grafts and from the newly developed therapeutic strategies for the reconstruction of damaged nerves. Recent advancements in nerve regeneration have involved the application of tissue engineering principles and this has evolved a new perspective to neural therapy. The success of neural tissue engineering is mainly based on the regulation of cell behavior and tissue progression through the development of a synthetic scaffold that is analogous to the natural extracellular matrix and can support three-dimensional cell cultures. As the natural extracellular matrix provides an ideal environment for topographical, electrical and chemical cues to the adhesion and proliferation of neural cells, there exists a need to develop a synthetic scaffold that would be biocompatible, immunologically inert, conducting, biodegradable, and infection-resistant biomaterial to support neurite outgrowth. This review outlines the rationale for effective neural tissue engineering through the use of suitable biomaterials and scaffolding techniques for fabrication of a construct that would allow the neurons to adhere, proliferate and eventually form nerves.