Collagen Scaffolds for Peripheral Nerve Repair

The peripheral nervous system connects the central nervous system (consisting of the brain and spinal cord) to the rest of the body. Peripheral nerve injury can lead to physical impairment and lifelong disability, the treatment of which is a major challenge for reconstructive surgeons, particularly when there are significantly sized gaps in the nerve. A scaffold with the correct 3D structure and mechanical properties, as well as the correct biological cues for cell attachment and proliferation could be used to bridge the nerve gap and aid the body's own healing process. This would be a significant development in the treatment of such injuries.
This project aims to fabricate such scaffolds from biological molecules, including collagen, the most abundant protein in the human body which predominates in the human extra cellular matrix and is one of the most studied and promising scaffold materials in the field of tissue engineering. The scaffolds may be fabricated in a variety of ways, the most commonly used of which include ice templating, electrospinning, 3D printing and stereolithography.