Fabrication Techniques of Nerve Guidance Conduits for Nerve Regeneration

Nerve injuries can cause loss of motor or sensory functions, leading to disabilities and high healthcare costs. This review focuses on nerve regeneration strategies using nerve guidance conduits (NGCs). NGCs are tubular structures made from natural or synthetic materials designed to bridge nerve injury gaps and promote nerve regeneration. The design and material of NGCs are crucial for their effectiveness. Various fabrication methods are used to create NGCs, including dip coating, solvent casting, micropatterning, electrospinning, and additive manufacturing. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages.

• 1
  Dip coating is a simple method for NGC fabrication, allowing easy control of thickness, but it cannot create pores for nutrient transport.
• 2
  Solvent casting is a cheap method to fabricate porous NGCs, but it involves toxic solvents and results in poor pore interconnectivity.
• 3
  Electrospinning is widely used to fabricate nanofiber architectures, which mimic the extracellular matrix, but it suffers from low scalability and reproducibility.