Nerve Cells Decide to Orient inside an Injectable Hydrogel with Minimal Structural Guidance.
Injectable biomaterials provide the advantage of a minimally invasive application but mostly lack the required structural complexity to regenerate aligned tissues. Here, we report a new class of tissue regenerative materials that can be injected and form an anisotropic matrix with controlled dimensions using rod-shaped, magnetoceptive microgel objects. Microgels are doped with small quantities of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (0.0046 vol %), allowing alignment by external magnetic fields in the millitesla order. The microgels are dispersed in a biocompatible gel precursor and after injection and orientation are fixed inside the matrix hydrogel. Regardless of the low volume concentration of the microgels below 3%, at which the geometrical constrain for orientation is still minimum, the generated macroscopic unidirectional orientation is strongly sensed by the cells resulting in parallel nerve extension. This finding opens a new, minimal invasive route for therapy after spinal cord injury.
DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials , 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Jonas C
JC
Rose
DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials , 52074 Aachen, Germany.
María
M
Cámara-Torres
DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials , 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Khosrow
K
Rahimi
DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials , 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Jens
J
Köhler
DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials , 52074 Aachen, Germany.|Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH , 52062 Aachen, Germany.
Martin
0000-0002-5955-4185
M
Möller
DWI - Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials , 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Laura
L
De Laporte
D000818:Animals; D016880:Anisotropy; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002645:Chickens; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010316:Particle Size; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D011095:Polyethylenes / Q000737:chemistry; D011126:Polypropylenes / Q000737:chemistry; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D020100:Hydrogels; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011126:Polypropylenes; C000499:ferric oxide; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C078661:UCON 50-HB-5100
Nerve growth; anisotropy; injectable hydrogel; magnetic alignment; magnetic nanoparticles; microgels; tissue regeneration