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Carbon-nanotube-interfaced glass fiber scaffold for regeneration of transected sciatic nerve.

Ahn, HS; Hwang, JY; Kim, MS; Lee, JY; Kim, JW; Kim, HS; Shin, US; ... Hyun, JK; + view all (2015) Carbon-nanotube-interfaced glass fiber scaffold for regeneration of transected sciatic nerve. Acta Biomater , 13 pp. 324-334. 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.11.026. Green open access

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Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with their unique and unprecedented properties, have become very popular for the repair of tissues, particularly for those requiring electrical stimuli. Whilst most reports have demonstrated in vitro neural cell responses of the CNTs, few studies have been performed on the in vivo efficacy of CNT-interfaced biomaterials in the repair and regeneration of neural tissues. Thus, we report here for the first time the in vivo functions of CNT-interfaced nerve conduits in the regeneration of transected rat sciatic nerve. Aminated CNTs were chemically tethered onto the surface of aligned phosphate glass microfibers (PGFs) and CNT-interfaced PGFs (CNT-PGFs) were successfully placed into three-dimensional poly(l/d-lactic acid) (PLDLA) tubes. An in vitro study confirmed that neurites of dorsal root ganglion outgrew actively along the aligned CNT-PGFs and that the CNT interfacing significantly increased the maximal neurite length. Sixteen weeks after implantation of a CNT-PGF nerve conduit into the 10mm gap of a transected rat sciatic nerve, the number of regenerating axons crossing the scaffold, the cross-sectional area of the re-innervated muscles and the electrophysiological findings were all significantly improved by the interfacing with CNTs. This first in vivo effect of using a CNT-interfaced scaffold in the regeneration process of a transected rat sciatic nerve strongly supports the potential use of CNT-interfaced PGFs at the interface between the nerve conduit and peripheral neural tissues.

Type: Article
Title: Carbon-nanotube-interfaced glass fiber scaffold for regeneration of transected sciatic nerve.
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.11.026
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2014.11.026
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Keywords: Carbon nanotubes, Peripheral nerve regeneration, Phosphate glass fibers, Scaffold, Sciatic nerve
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Eastman Dental Institute
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Eastman Dental Institute > Biomaterials and Tissue Eng
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1458417
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