Engineering nerve guidance conduits with three-dimenisonal bioprinting technology for long gap peripheral nerve regeneration

摘要

Nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) are tubular structures that are used to bridge the gap of a severed nerve, thereby acting as a guide and protective micro-environment for the regenerating axons and as a barrier against the in-growth of scar-forming tissue. In the last few decades, the concept of NGCs has evolved from a research tool to investigate nerve regeneration into a translational product that is now being used clinically as an alternative for autologous nerve graft repair, due to their availability and ease of fabrication.