(450e) Development of Biocompatible Elastomeric Nerve Conduit Scaffolds for Repair of Peripheral Nerve Defects

The current gold standard in repair of peripheral nerve defects is implantation of a sensory nerve autograft. Due to the significant drawbacks associated with autograft repairs, it is important to develop novel synthetic scaffolds for promoting axon regeneration. We have fabricated a flexible, biodegradable elastomeric conduit that was tested in a 1 cm rat sciatic nerve defect model. Repair with this device demonstrated better functional nerve regeneration over the FDA approved collagen conduit as assessed by electrophysiology and muscle weight. To further optimize the mechanical properties, degradation rate and biocompatibility of the nerve conduit material, we synthesized a library of polyesters based on the chemical structure of poly(glycerol-co-sebacate) (PGS). Each material was screened using a series of in vitro and in vivo tests, and selected according to overall performance instead of superiority in one parameter. Using the optimized material, we produced second generation conduits that contain aligned electrospun fibers as the intraluminal matrix filler. To create a 3D intraluminal matrix, we developed a method for incorporating the aligned electrospun fibers into the nerve conduit lumen in a uniform manner with no fiber aggregation. Further functionalization of the aligned matrix resulted in a scaffold that can provide topographical and biological cues to stimulate nerve regeneration.