Pinecone-Inspired Water-Responsive Curling Adhesive Conduit for Peripheral Nerve Repair.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Regenerative Medicine
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Peripheral nerve injuries pose significant challenges for treatment.
• Current microsurgical techniques for nerve repair are complex and can cause damage.
• Existing nerve guidance conduits often require sutures, leading to complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, water-responsive, self-curling adhesive conduit for suture-free peripheral nerve repair.
• To create a biomimetic scaffold that adapts to nerve tissue and promotes regeneration.
• To overcome the limitations of current nerve repair methods.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a self-curling film (PU/PGA) from hydrophilic γ-polyglutamic acid (PGA) and hydrophobic polyurethane (PU).
• Utilizing differential swelling of PU and PGA in water to induce autonomous curling into a tubular structure.
• Coating the film with a polyurethane (PU) adhesive emulsion for tissue adhesion.

Main Results:

• The developed conduit autonomously wraps around nerve tissue, providing adaptive coverage and adhesion fixation.
• The self-curling adhesive conduit demonstrated excellent biocompatibility.
• The conduit effectively promoted peripheral nerve regeneration in experimental models.
• The material showed straightforward operability and significant repair efficacy.

Conclusions:

• The water-responsive self-curling adhesive conduit offers a promising, suture-free solution for peripheral nerve repair.
• This biomimetic scaffold facilitates nerve regeneration and demonstrates substantial clinical potential.
• The innovative design overcomes key challenges in current nerve repair strategies.