Surface Functionalised Collagen Scaffolds for Peripheral Nerve Repair

用于周围神经修复的表面功能化胶原支架

• 批准号: 2738221
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2738221
• 关键词: Surface; Functionalised; Collagen; Scaffolds; Peripheral

Peripheral nerves can recover naturally following injuries; however, surgical intervention is often necessary to aid nerve regeneration, particularly over longer nerve gaps. One surgical option that has shown clinical success is the placement of a nerve guide between damaged nerve ends to support and guide regrowing axons, and there is plenty of scope for designing both the structure and chemistry of a guide to optimise nerve regeneration.Complete functional recovery following any nerve injury is very unlikely, even with surgical intervention, and the formation of scar tissue is a major contributor to this. Reducing the infiltration, attachment, and proliferation of fibroblasts in a nerve tube should result in a reduction in scar tissue formation, though it is important that the activities of other cells involved in nerve regeneration are not inhibited. This project therefore aims to investigate methods to control the cell-selectivity of three-dimensional collagen scaffolds for use as nerve guides, primarily through surface functionalisation with the laminin derived IKVAV peptide. Physical methods to reduce fibroblast infiltration will also be studied, such as the production of a collagen sheath to surround a nerve guide.

周围神经受伤后可以自然恢复；然而，通常需要手术干预来帮助神经再生，特别是对于较长的神经间隙。一种已在临床上取得成功的手术选择是在受损神经末端之间放置神经导管，以支撑和引导轴突再生，并且设计导管的结构和化学成分以优化神经再生有很大的空间。即使进行手术干预，任何神经损伤后完全功能恢复的可能性也很小，而疤痕组织的形成是其主要原因。减少神经管中成纤维细胞的浸润、附着和增殖应该会导致疤痕组织形成的减少，尽管重要的是参与神经再生的其他细胞的活动不被抑制。因此，该项目旨在研究控制用作神经导管的三维胶原蛋白支架的细胞选择性的方法，主要通过层粘连蛋白衍生的 IKVAV 肽的表面功能化。还将研究减少成纤维细胞浸润的物理方法，例如产生包围神经导管的胶原鞘。