Preparation and characterization of electrical conductive PVA based materials for peripheral nerve tube-guides

J Biomed Mater Res A. 2016 Aug;104(8):1981-7. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.35730. Epub 2016 Apr 9.

Abstract

Peripheral nerve regeneration is a serious clinical problem. Presently, there are several nerve tube-guides available in the market, however with some limitations. The goal of this work was the development of a biomaterial with high electrical conductivity to produce tube-guides for nerve regeneration after neurotmesis injuries whenrver an end-to-end suture without tension is not possible. A matrix of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was used loaded with the following electrical conductive materials: COOH-functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), poly(pyrrole) (PPy), magnesium chloride (MgCl2 ), and silver nitrate (AgNO3 ). The tube-guide production was carried out by a freezing/thawing process (physical crosslinking) with a final annealing treatment. After producing the tube-guide for nerve regeneration, the physicochemical characterization was performed. The most interesting results were achieved by loading PVA with 0.05% of PPy or COOH- functionalized CNTs. These tubes combined the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and PPy with the biocompatibility of PVA matrix, with potential clinical application for nerve regeneration. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 1981-1987, 2016.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes; nerve guide; poly(pyrrole); poly(vinyl alcohol); tissue engineering.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry*
  • Calorimetry, Differential Scanning
  • Electric Conductivity*
  • Freezing
  • Guided Tissue Regeneration / methods*
  • Peripheral Nerves / physiology*
  • Polyvinyl Alcohol / chemistry*
  • Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
  • Static Electricity
  • Wettability
  • X-Ray Diffraction

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Polyvinyl Alcohol