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The strategy can be applied to guide the migration of endogenous or transplanted cells and tissues to damaged tissues of the peripheral and central nervous systems
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Summary Every year, several million people suffer serious peripheral nerve injury in the United States alone, with over 200,000 nerve repair procedures done annually. Physicians need products that facilitate the repair and regeneration of the nerve itself, but considerable shortfalls currently exist in available technologies. Alografts are the current standard, but require multiple surgeries and grafts, with low recovery rates. Further, scaffolds for tissue engineering are promising solutions, but are not capable of guiding tissue regeneration. This invention utilizes 2D and 3D scaffolds with oriented nanofilaments that mimic the strategy used by collagen and other fibrillar structures to guide cell migration or tissue development and promote regeneration in a guided, direction-sensitive manner. The critical advantage of this technology is that it provides directional cues for cell and tissue regeneration. It also eliminates donor site morbidity associated by allografts, is easily manufactured and has been tested for longer gaps. This strategy can be applied to guide the migration of endogenous or transplanted cells and tissues to damaged tissues of the peripheral and central nervous systems to restore function, but could be applied to numerous tissue engineering applications. The technology is protected by foreign and domestic patents and patent applications. Additional information about the technology can be found at the following issued patent: