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Introduction Peripheral nerve injury is common in clinical practice. The usual etiologies are penetrating injury, stretch, compression, crush and ischemia. Outcome of nerve injury depends on the etiology and also the management. Nerve defect is a challenging scenario. The current gold standard of managing a nerve defect is autologous nerve graft. However, due to the selection of nerve graft and donor site morbidity, artificial nerve conduits are gaining popularity. However, there are drawbacks of single hollow conduit such as lack of internal support to prevent conduit collapse and inability so as to recreate the proper native spatial arrangement of cells and extracellular matrix within the conduit. In this study, the biocompatibility and efficacy of five-channel and eight-channel Crosslinked Urethane-doped Polyester Elastomers (CUPEs) as nerve guidance conduit will be evaluated through a rat model with reconstruction of segmental peripheral nerve defect. Material and method Eighteen adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Tthey were randomly allocated to three groups: autograft group, five-channel conduit group and eight-channel conduit group with each consisted of six rats. A 10mm nerve defects were created at the right sciatic nerve. They were bridged with reverse autograft, 5-channel conduit and 8-channel conduit. After eight weeks the rats were euthanized and the reconstructed nerves were harvested for histomorphometric analysis. Results All conduits showed regenerated nerve tissue inside. There was no collapse of the conduits. There were no severe tissue reaction or scarring near the reconstructed nerve. No neuroma was formed. Histomorphometric analysis showed nerve regeneration was enhanced with increasing number of channels inside conduit. There was overall drop in fiber density between proximal and distal segment among all groups. Conclusions CUPE nerve guidance conduit is biocompatible and shows good nerve regeneration in reconstructing nerve defect. / published_or_final_version / Obstetrics and Gynaecology / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xvi, 251 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-251).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

This dissertation focuses on the development of biomaterials that could be used to enhance the regeneration of severed peripheral nerves. These materials were designed to be electroactive, biodegradable, and biocompatible. To render the materials electroactive the author chose to incorporate conducting polymer (CP) units into the materials. Because CPs are inherently non-degradable, the key challenge was to create a CP-based material that was also biodegradable. Two strategies were explored to generate a biodegradable CP-based material. The first strategy centered around the incorporation of both electroactive and biodegradable subunits into a copolymer system. In the context of this approach, two bis(methoxyquaterthiophene)-co-adipic acid polyester (QAPE) analogues were successfully synthesized, one through polycondensation (giving undoped QAPE) and the second through oxidative polymerization (giving doped QAPE-2). QAPE was found to be electroactive by cyclic voltammetry, bioerodible, and cytocompatible with Schwann cells. QAPE was doped with ferric perchlorate, although only a low doping percentage was realized (~8%). Oxidative polymerization of a bis(bithiophene) adipate permitted the direct synthesis of doped QAPE-2, which was found to have a higher doping level (~24%). The second strategy pursued with the goal of generating an electroactive biodegradable material involved covalently immobilizing low molecular weight polythiophene chains onto the surface of crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) films. HA films are not only biodegradable and biocompatible, but they also provide mechanical integrity to bilayer systems. Dicyclocarbodiimide coupling of carboxylic acids to HA alcohol groups was used to functionalize HA films. The HA-polythiophene composite is still in the early stages of development. However, to date, thiophene has been successfully immobilized at the surface of HA films with a high degree of substitution. The author has also shown that thiophene polymerization can be achieved at the surface of these functionalized films and that the extent of polymer immobilization appears to be affected by the presence of immobilized thiophene. The results reported in this dissertation lead the author to suggest that it is possible to generate biodegradable electroactive materials. Further, she believes that with additional optimization these materials may prove beneficial for the regeneration of peripheral nerves and possibly other tissues that respond favorably to electrical stimulation. / text

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-171).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-66).