SILICON WIRES FOR NERVE GAP MANAGEMENT: ROLE OF SURFACE PROPERTIES IN NERVE REGENERATION

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Neuroscience
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Peripheral nerve injuries, common in combat trauma, often result in nerve gaps requiring bridging.
• Advancements in prosthetics necessitate functional mind-controlled devices, often relying on nerve or brain-computer interfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To morphologically evaluate the interaction between nerve fibers and silicon wires with varying surface properties.
• To assess the efficacy of silicon wires within a regenerative conduit for peripheral nerve repair.

Main Methods:

• A peripheral nerve injury model was established in 50 male Wistar rats, creating a 10 mm sciatic nerve gap.
• Conduits containing decellularized aorta, carboxymethylcellulose gel, and p-type silicon wires (2-20 µm diameter) with native oxide, hydrogen-cleaned, or thermally grown oxide surfaces were implanted.
• Control groups received conduits with gel alone or an autoneurograft.

Main Results:

• Conduits with silicon wires featuring a native oxide surface demonstrated more complete and uniform neurotization.
• Close adherence between newly-formed nerve fibers and native oxide silicon wires was observed.
• Silicon wires with native oxide showed superior performance compared to those with other surface treatments.

Conclusions:

• P-type silicon wires with a native oxide surface are highly suitable for nerve regeneration applications.
• These findings suggest potential for using native oxide silicon wires in regenerative implants and electrodes for advanced prosthetics.