Peripheral nerve tissue engineering

Peripheral nerve injury is a frequent clinical problem and causes loss of motor and sensory functions for patients. Though some inherent regeneration capacity exists, this is often very limited in the cases of nerve tissue gaps. The design of a nerve conduit that results in successful nerve axon regeneration across these gaps and recovery of normal functions is a significant challenge for researchers in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This chapter includes a historic background to this research area and summarizes the current knowledge of various biomaterials, fabrication techniques and structural modifications, and the inclusion of cell and molecular therapies used in the production of nerve conduits.