Repair and regeneration of critically injured peripheral nerves is one of the most challenging reconstructive surgeries. Currently available and FDA approved nerve guidance channels (NGCs) are suitable for small gap injuries, and their biological performance is inferior to that of autografts. Development of biomimetic NGCs with clinically relevant geometrical and biological characteristics such as topographical, biochemical, and haptotactic cues could offer better regeneration of the long-gap complex nerve injuries. Here, in this study, we present the development and preclinical analysis of three-dimensional (3D) printed aligned cryomatrix-filled NGCs along with nerve growth factor (NGF) (aCG + NGF) for peripheral nerve regeneration. We demonstrated the application of these aCG + NGF NGCs in the enhanced and successful regeneration of a critically injured rat sciatic nerve in comparison to random cryogel-filled NGCs, multichannel and clinically preferred hollow conduits, and the gold standard autografts. Our results indicated similar effect of the aCG + NGF NGCs viz-a-viz that of the autografts, and they not only enhanced the overall regenerated nerve physiology but could also mimic the cellular aspects of regeneration. This study emphasizes the paradigm that these biomimetic 3D printed NGCs will lead to a better functional regenerative outcome under clinical settings.
Keywords: 3D printing; aligned cryogel; guidance channel; nerve regeneration; stereolithography.