Synthesizing a 3D-Bioprinted Nerve Conduit Using Poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) and Graphite

Overview

Over 20 million people in the United States are currently living with peripheral nerve injuries, resulting in approximately $150 billion spent in annual healthcare dollars in the United States. The current gold standard surgical treatments for severe nerve injuries are primarily autologous grafts and secondarily collagen grafts. However, these two approaches have failed to be able to heal nerve injuries longer than 5 centimeters. To create a product that could potentially regenerate nerves over larger distances, a prototype of a 3D-printable conduit was designed with the materials poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) and graphite, which were chosen based on literature review and interviews with experts. The materials were made into a bioink and 3D-printed. The prototype was then tested in the laboratory to determine its mechanical and microstructural properties. The high porosity of the printed product suggested that the nerve conduit would be conducive for cell attachment and growth. The average Young’s modulus of the graft, 1.806 MPa, was comparable with other biomaterials that have been successfully implanted in the body. The high local conductivity of the conduit makes it especially suited for nerve regeneration because of the electrical impulses it can pass through to axons. Future directions would include animal and human testing for biocompatibility, degradation, and overall regeneration efficiency.

Competition history

• JSHS 2022 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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