Nanoparticles for neurotrophic factor delivery in nerve guidance conduits for peripheral nerve repair

Peripheral nerve injuries are a major source of disabilities, and treatment of long nerve gap autografts is the gold standard. However, due to poor availability and donor-site morbidity, research is directed towards the development of regenerative strategies based on the use of artificial nerve guidance conduits (NGCs). Several properties and characteristics of the NGCs can be fine-tuned, such as the architecture of the conduit, the surface topography and the addition of bioactive molecules and cells to speed up nerve regeneration. In this review, US FDA-approved NGCs are described. The recent works, in which polymeric, magnetic, silica-based and lipidic NPs are employed to introduce growth factors (GFs) to NGCs, are overviewed and discussed in depth herein. Plain language summary Nerves present in the extremities of the body are often injured, and this can lead to disabilities. To treat this problem, nerve sections from other body parts can be used, but the main disadvantage of this technique is poor availability and donor-site morbidity. To tackle these difficulties, research is focused on the development of artificial nerves, which are known as nerve guidance conduits (NGCs). This review article focuses on advances in this field, which is mainly related to the optimization of the material for conduit synthesis, on architecture and topography, and on how the functionalization of the NGCs with bioactive molecules can support nerve regeneration at the injured site. Currently commercialized NGCs are presented, and an in-depth discussion on strategies comprising neurotrophic factors administered alone, or included in the NGCs using nanoparticles, is also provided.