An Electromechanical Converted Bacterial Cellulose Based Composite Film for Repairing Peripheral Nerve Injury through Mimicking Physiological Electrical Signal

Abstract

Electrical stimulation could effectively promote the repair of peripheral nerve injuries. However, traditional electrical stimulation requires external devices and connections, inevitably causing unnecessary discomfort and infection risks for patients. Thus, to ensure clinical safety and support neural regeneration, a dual-functional cellulose-based peripheral nerve conduit with both piezoelectric and conductive properties is developed by incorporating barium titanate (BTO) and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) onto the surface of expanded bacterial cellulose. The electroactive conduit not only provides suitable mechanical support and stability to ensure structural integrity in vivo, but also encourages macrophage polarization into the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype after 2 weeks of post-implantation. Furthermore, the piezoelectric properties provided by BTO convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, which, in synergy with the conductive PEDOT, enables the conduit to stimulate nerve regeneration by mimicking bioelectric signals with an output voltage of 8.22 mV and output current of 2.05 μA at compression distances of 1.0 mm. After implantation into a sciatic nerve defect model, this conduit significantly reduces atrophy of the gastrocnemius muscle and accelerates the regeneration of sciatic nerve by facilitating the transmission of neural electrical signals. In summary, this artificial peripheral nerve conduit possesses excellent repair capacity for nerve defects, hence holding attractive prospects for clinical application.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Bacterial cellulose / Electroactive biomaterial / Piezoelectric property / Electromechanical conversion / Peripheral nerve conduit

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Funding

Beijing Natural Science Foundation(L244003)

the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52273119)

Key Research and Development Projects of People's Liberation Army(BWS17J036)

the Interdisciplinary Research Project for Young Teachers of USTB (Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities)(FRF-IDRY-23-019)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Donghua University, Shanghai, China