3D-Printed PCL/PPy Conductive Scaffolds as Three-Dimensional Porous Nerve Guide Conduits (NGCs) for Peripheral Nerve Injury Repair.

ABSTRACT: Conductivity is a desirable property of an ideal nerve guide conduit (NGC) that is being considered for peripheral nerve regeneration. Most of the conductive polymers reported in use for fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds such as polypyrrole (PPy), polyaniline, polythiophene, and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) are non-biodegradable and possess weak mechanical properties to be fabricated into 3D structures. In this study, a biodegradable and conductive block copolymer of PPy and Polycaprolactone (PPy-b-PCL) was used to fabricate 3D porous NGCs using a novel electrohydrodynamic jet 3D printing process which offers superior control over fiber diameter, pore size, porosity, and fiber alignment. PCL/PPy scaffolds with three different concentrations of PPy-b-PCL (0.5, 1, and 2% v/v) w

SUBMITTER: Vijayavenkataraman S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6843025 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature