Cell-directed assembly of luminal nanofibril fillers in nerve conduits for peripheral nerve repair

Graphene and its derivatives, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO), have attracted significant attention in the field of tissue engineering, particularly in nerve and muscle regeneration, owing to their excellent electrical conductivity. This paper reports the fabrication of cell-mixable rGO-decorated polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrils (NFs) to promote peripheral nerve repair with the assistant of electron transmission by rGO and cytokine paracrine by stem cells. Oxidized GO (GO-COOH) and branched polyethylenimine are layer-by-layer coated on hydrolyzed PCL NFs via electrostatic interaction, and the number of layering is manipulated to adjust the GO-COOH coating amount. The decorated GO-COOH is reduced in situ to rGO for electrical conductivity retrieval. PC12 cells cultivated with rGO-coated NF demonstrate spontaneous cell sheet assembly, and neurogenic differentiation is observed upon electrical stimulation. When transplant nerve guidance conduit containing the assembly of rGO-coated NF and adipose-derived stem cell to the site of neurotmesis injury of a sciatic nerve, animal movement is enhanced and autotomy is ameliorated for 8 weeks compared to transplanting the hollow conduit only. Histological analysis results reveal higher levels of muscle mass and lower levels of collagen deposition in the triceps surae muscle of the rGO-coated NF-treated legs. Therefore, the rGO-layered NF can be tailored to repair peripheral nerve injuries in combination with stem cell therapy.