title: Carbon-nanotube-interfaced glass fiber scaffold for regeneration of transected sciatic nerve.
abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with their unique and unprecedented properties, have become very popular for the repair of tissues, particularly for those requiring electrical stimuli. Whilst most reports have demonstrated in vitro neural cell responses of the CNTs, few studies have been performed on the in vivo efficacy of CNT-interfaced biomaterials in the repair and regeneration of neural tissues. Thus, we report here for the first time the in vivo functions of CNT-interfaced nerve conduits in the regeneration of transected rat sciatic nerve. Aminated CNTs were chemically tethered onto the surface of aligned phosphate glass microfibers (PGFs) and CNT-interfaced PGFs (CNT-PGFs) were successfully placed into three-dimensional poly(L/D-lactic acid) (PLDLA) tubes. An in vitro study confirmed that neurites of dorsal root ganglion outgrew actively along the aligned CNT-PGFs and that the CNT interfacing significantly increased the maximal neurite length. Sixteen weeks after implantation of a CNT-PGF nerve conduit into the 10 mm gap of a transected rat sciatic nerve, the number of regenerating axons crossing the scaffold, the cross-sectional area of the re-innervated muscles and the electrophysiological findings were all significantly improved by the interfacing with CNTs. This first in vivo effect of using a CNT-interfaced scaffold in the regeneration process of a transected rat sciatic nerve strongly supports the potential use of CNT-interfaced PGFs at the interface between the nerve conduit and peripheral neural tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hong-Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ji-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Min Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ja-Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Wan
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ueon Sang
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD, UK.
authors.forename: Jonathan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomaterial Science, School of Dentistry, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kimhw@dku.edu.
authors.forename: Hae-Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanobiomedical Science and BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: rhhyun@dankook.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jung Keun
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hyun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000502:physiology; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D016501:Neurites / Q000502:physiology; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; C009753:fiberglass; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide)
keywords: Carbon nanotubes; Peripheral nerve regeneration; Phosphate glass fibers; Scaffold; Sciatic nerve