Biodegradable Conductive Conduit and Electroceutical for Accelerating Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Peripheral nerve injury that completely cut and damaged by traumatic injury causes loss of motor function and/or sensory function. Peripheral nerve generally regenerates naturally in some range, but natural regeneration is limited and functional recovery is incomplete when the nerve defect is longer than 10 mm. An autograft, one of gold standard in clinics, is needed for peripheral nerve amputation patients, however, treatment success rate of autograft does not exceed 50 %. Recent studies propose artificial nerve conduit as a new treatment method that can possibly replace autograft. A conductive nerve conduit that helps electrical signal exchange has been highlighted along with biodegradable nerve conduits. In addition, recent studies have shown that electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves not only accelerates nerve regeneration but also improves functional recovery.<br/>In this study, we introduced electroceutical combined with the biodegradable conductive nerve conduit and electrical stimulator for accelerated regeneration of long defect gap of sciatic nerve in rodent model. We fabricated a composite type of nerve conduit using biodegradable polymer (PCL) and biodegradable metal particles (Mo Nanoparticles). Wireless electrical stimulation was attempted for several days to maximize the nerve regeneration effect. Histological studies show that there is no mechanical or immunochemical damage by biodegradable conductive conduit. In-vivo demonstration for rodent model shows the successful treatment results.