MATERIALS, METHODS AND DEVICES FOR STIMULATING AND DIRECTING THE PROLIFERATION AND MIGRATION OF NEURAL PROGENITORS AND AXONAL AND DENDRITIC GROWTH

摘要

The invention consists of compositions, methods and devices for inducing, stimulating and directing the adhesion, proliferation and migration of neural precursors and axonal and dendritic growth. The invention comprises electroconductive substrates in the form of microfibres or surfaces that are biofunctionalised so as to include one or more biomolecules of interest in order to control cell behaviour. Said substrates can be used for neurobiological studies, cell cultures and pharmagological assays in vitro, and can be implanted in the nervous system in the form of electro-biological devices or scaffolds, in order to promote neural tissue repair or to improve communication in the electrode/neural cell interface in neuroprosthetic systems. The cellular effects are obtained by the type, number and type of bond between the molecules and the substrates, by the physical properties of same and the shape of the scaffolds, by electrical stimulation or by the combined effect of these factors.