Nanofiber Scaffolds as Drug Delivery Systems to Bridge Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to motor, sensory, and autonomic system dysfunctions with limited effective treatments for cell regeneration and motor function recovery. This review explores neuro-protective and neuro-regenerative approaches using nanofibers as local drug delivery systems. Nanofibers can deliver drugs to prevent secondary damage after SCI (neuro-protection) and re-establish neuronal connections through axonal sprouting (neuro-regeneration), which helps in functional recovery. Current pharmaceutical strategies, like Methylprednisolone, have limitations and side effects. Emerging nanotechnology, particularly nanofibers, offers targeted drug delivery and physical support for axonal regeneration.

• 1
  Nanofiber scaffolds can support graft cells, reconstruct tissue loss, alleviate inflammation, improve axonal regeneration, and act as drug delivery systems in SCI treatment.
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  Aligned nanofibers mimic the oriented nerve environment, promoting higher neural cell proliferation compared to randomly oriented fibers.
• 3
  Electrospinning, a versatile and cost-effective method, is widely used in nanofiber manufacturing for drug delivery, allowing modulation of drug release profiles using different polymers and techniques.