Abstract
Background: Nowadays, peripheral nerve defect is still a great clinical challenge. The autologous nerve grafts, allogeneic nerve grafts and non-nerve autologous grafts have been used for the repair of peripheral nerve defects. However, the drawbacks are also very obvious. There is an urgent need for a peripheral nerve repair product that can match or exceed the abilities of the current “gold standard”, nerve autografts.
Objective: Herein, A poly (d,l-lactic acid)/β-tricalcium phosphate/hyaluronic acid/chitosan/nerve growth factor(PDLLA/β-TCP/HA/CHS/NGF) nerve conduit was prepared for the repair of peripheral nerve defects. Method: NGF was cross-linked to the PDLLA/β-TCP/HA/CHS composite material through layer-bylayer electrostatic self-assembly (LBL-ESA) and cross-linking technology. The physicochemical properties of the nerve conduit were investigated followed by an in vitro cell behavior evaluation. Results: Attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed the conduit had been fabricated successfully with interconnected pores and a semi-permeable structure. The tensile strength of the nerve conduit was 5.93 ± 0.62 MPa, which is near the average value of peripheral nerve. Contact angle testing showed that it had favorable hydrophilicity. The degradation behavior, evaluated by pH change, weight loss ratio and structure change, indicated that the conduit could retain its integrity after 12 weeks. In vitro cell evaluation showed that the conduit had low toxicity and allowed bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) to adhere. Conclusion: The PDLLA/β-TCP/HA/CHS/NGF nerve conduit could be a promising candidate for nerve damage repair.Keywords: β-tricalcium phosphate, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, nerve growth factor, nerve conduit, polylactic acid.
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