G. DAI1, X. NIU1, J. YIN2
Abstract: In the modern life, the nerve injury frequently happens due to mechanical, chemical or thermal
accidents. In the trivial injuries, the peripheral nerves can regenerate on their own; however, in most
of the cases the clinical treatments are required, where relatively large nerve injury gaps are formed.
Currently, the nerve repair can be accomplished by direct suture when the injury gap is not too large;
while the autologous nerve graft working as the gold standard of peripheral nerve injury treatment for
nerve injuries with larger gaps. However, the direct suture is limited by heavy tension at the suture sites,
and the autologous nerve graft also has the drawbacks of donor site morbidity and insufficient donor
tissue. Recently, artificial nerve conduits have been developed as an alternative for clinical nerve repair to
overcome the limitations associated with the above treatments. In order to further improve the efficiency
of nerve conduits, various guidance cues are incorporated, including physical cues, biochemical signals,
as well as support cells. First, this paper reviewed the contact guidance cues applied in nerve conduits,
such as lumen fillers, multi-channels and micro-patterns on the inner surface. Then, the paper focused on
the polymeric nerve conduits with micro inner grooves. The polymeric nerve conduits were fabricated
using the phase inversion-based fiber spinning techniques. The smart spinneret with grooved die was
designed in the spinning platform, while different spinning conditions, including flow rates, air-gap
distances, and polymer concentrations, were adjusted to investigate the influence of fabrication conditions
on the geometry of nerve conduits. The inner groove size in the nerve conduits can be precisely
controlled in our hollow fiber spinning process, which can work as the efficient contact guidance cue for
nerve regeneration.
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