An Easy-to-Handle Route for Bicomponent Porous Tubes Fabrication as Nerve Guide Conduits

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Peripheral nerve damage necessitates advanced nerve guide conduits (NGCs) for clinical surgical repair.
• Current NGC development focuses on high-performance materials and manufacturing for effective nerve regeneration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a versatile method for fabricating 3D porous tubes from chitosan and gelatin for use as nerve guide conduits.
• To characterize the morphological, mechanical, and in vitro biological properties of the developed NGCs.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of 3D porous tubes using a chitosan/gelatin blend.
• Characterization of porosity, pore size, and shape using X-ray computed tomography (XCT).
• Assessment of mechanical properties (strength, toughness) and in vitro cell adhesion/proliferation (SH-SY5Y cells).

Main Results:

• Fabricated highly porous (94-97%) chitosan-gelatin tubes with micron-sized pores and tunable mechanical properties.
• Mechanical properties (strength: 0.37-0.63 MPa, toughness: 14-46 kJ/m³) align with commercial NGCs.
• Demonstrated successful adhesion and proliferation of neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) on the 3D porous tubes in vitro.

Conclusions:

• The developed chitosan-gelatin 3D porous tubes offer a promising, versatile platform for nerve guide conduit applications.
• The fabrication method allows for tunable morphological and mechanical properties suitable for peripheral nerve regeneration.
• Future integration with techniques like electrospinning could enhance NGC design for improved cellular interaction and molecular transport.