Decellularized peripheral nerve as an injectable delivery vehicle for neural applications

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Neuroscience
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Nervous system damage causes significant functional loss.
• Biomaterials strategies are crucial for neural regeneration.
• Injectable hydrogels offer minimally invasive solutions for neural repair.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize injectable hydrogels from decellularized peripheral nerves.
• To evaluate the hydrogels' potential for neural tissue engineering and drug delivery.

Main Methods:

• Decellularization of rat peripheral nerves using a novel sodium deoxycholate and DNase (SDD) method.
• Assessment of hydrogel gelation kinetics, mechanical properties, and in vitro biocompatibility.
• Evaluation of Schwann cell viability, metabolic activity, and astrocyte spreading.
• Analysis of drug release kinetics for potential combinatorial therapies.

Main Results:

• Injectable peripheral nerve (iPN) hydrogels were successfully developed.
• Hydrogels exhibit rapid thermal gelation at 37°C within 20 minutes.
• Mechanical properties of iPN hydrogels mimic native neural tissue.
• Demonstrated in vitro biocompatibility supporting Schwann cell viability and promoting astrocyte spreading.
• iPN hydrogels effectively deliver drug-loaded microparticles.

Conclusions:

• The developed iPN hydrogels are a promising biomaterial for neural tissue engineering.
• These hydrogels provide a supportive microenvironment for neural cells.
• iPN hydrogels serve as effective vehicles for combinatorial drug delivery in nerve regeneration.