Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Date of Award
January 2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
Biomedical Engineering
First Advisor
Harini G. Sundararaghavan
Abstract
Peripheral neuropathy is common and is a major source of pain that can lead to debilitating loss of function. Healing often requires medical intervention through autologous nerve grafts. However, autografting is not always successful and can lead to increased debilitation through donor site morbidity. Tissue engineering seeks to improve nerve injury treatment though the use of nerve conduits. Conduits made from functional biomaterials can be implanted into a nerve injury site encouraging and controlling axonal regrowth without causing additional harm to the patient. Both silk fibroin (SF) and hyaluronic acid (HA) have proven successful in the field of neural tissue engineering. SF has excellent mechanical properties and is attractive to cells. HA is familiar to cells and has proven successful in peripheral nerve regeneration. This study developed aligned combination SF-HA nanofibers through electrospinning that could be used within a nerve conduit. Both materials were also methacrylated to allow for photocrosslinking and additional control over material properties. SF-HA was tested alongside a material containing only HA that has already proven to be effective in literature. When characterizing the materials, it was found that through chemical methacrylation HA was substituted at 60% while SF reported a 30% substitution. Electrospun SF-HA nanofibers were found to have a greater diameter than HA fibers; however, SF-HA was found to be more aligned with greater surface hydrophobicity. Mechanically, it was found that both materials exceeded the properties of the native tissue, but SF-HA far exceeded HA in elasticity and overall fiber extension. Furthermore, human Schwann cells attached, proliferated, and released more pro-regenerative growth factors on SF-HA than HA. Dorsal root ganglia neurons also displayed a healthier cell morphology with longer neurite extensions on SF-HA fibers. Therefore, SF-HA nanofibers have potential as a nerve conduit material.
Recommended Citation
Badrak, Madeline Rose, "Silk Fibroin - Hyaluronic Acid Nanofibers For Peripheral Nerve Regeneration" (2024). Wayne State University Theses. 936.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_theses/936