Nerve Regeneration with a Scaffold Incorporating an Absorbable Zinc-2% Iron Alloy Filament to Improve Axonal Guidance.

ABSTRACT: Peripheral nerve damage that results in lost segments requires surgery, but currently available hollow scaffolds have limitations that could be overcome by adding internal guidance support. A novel solution is to use filaments of absorbable metals to supply physical support and guidance for nerve regeneration that then safely disappear from the body. Previously, we showed that thin filaments of magnesium metal (Mg) would support nerve regeneration. Here, we tested another absorbable metal, zinc (Zn), using a proprietary zinc alloy with 2% iron (Zn-2%Fe) that was designed to overcome the limitations of both Mg and pure Zn metal. Non-critical-sized gaps in adult rat sciatic nerves were repaired with silicone conduits plus single filaments of Zn-2%Fe, Mg, or no metal, with autografts as contr

SUBMITTER: Ron T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10674795 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature