A scaffold-free nerve conduit and a method of making the scaffold-free nerve conduit are provided. A nerve-repair method using the scaffold-free nerve conduit also is provided.

The present technology provides a composition comprising a mixture of a source of calcium ions, alginate conjugated to an acrylate monomer (ALG-A), carboxymethylcellulose conjugated to an acrylate monomer (CMC-A) and water, wherein the mixture is a shear-thinning gel. The compositions may further include a polythiol agent. Such compositions are injectable due to their shear-thinning properties, yet stay in place, undergo in situ crosslinking, and provide safe, simple and efficacious endovascular embolization. Methods of making and using such compositions are also provided.

The present invention provides novel methods for poling piezoelectric materials, e.g., collagen, which are carried out in the absence of liquid media and at a relatively low temperature. The present invention also provides electroactive scaffolds comprising poled collagen for promoting cell growth and differentiation.

Luminal grafts and methods of making and using the same. An exemplary luminal graft of the present disclosure is configured as a generally tubular element configured for nerve cells to grow therethrough and comprises at least one sheet of biological tissue having elastin fibers and collagen fibers, with the elastin fibers being a dominant component thereof; and a plurality of microchannels formed on a surface of the at least one sheet of biological tissue, each of the microchannels extending longitudinally between a first end and a second end of the at least one sheet of biological tissue and configured to provide intraluminal structural guidance to nerve cells proliferating therethrough.

A silk fibroin nerve graft fused with NT3 and a preparation method therefor is provided. The method includes the steps of: synthesizing a gene fragment containing a silk fibroin light chain and NT-3, connecting the fragment to a pET-30 expression vector, and transferring the obtained recombinant expression vector into BL21 Escherichia coli to obtain a fusion protein; placing a silk fibroin fiber web in a mold, mixing the fusion protein and a silk fibroin solution, and performing freeze drying to enable the silk fibroin to be crosslinked with the fusion protein to form a nerve conduit; and after deformation processing, finally obtaining a silk fibroin nerve graft having NT-3 activity. The silk fibroin nerve graft can provide a mechanical support, exert nerve protection and nerve regeneration promotion functions in a long term, and adjust the proportion of NT-3 bioactive peptides in the nerve conduit, facilitating repair of nerve injuries.

A unit capable of promoting angiogenesis and/or nerve regeneration, including a gel component and proteoglycans, and the like that induces angiogenesis in cells and tissues transplanted into the body, and agents such as scaffolds for neural stem cells to be viable and proliferate after such transplantation.

The invention relates to a cell sheet construct for neurovascular reconstruction. The cell sheet construct has a vascular endothelial cell layer and a neural stem cell layer, and the two layers are physically in direct contact with each other, where the vascular endothelial cell layer forms branching vasculatures, and the neural stem cell layer differentiates into neurons. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing the cell sheet construct, having the following steps: culturing vascular endothelial cells on a substrate to form a vascular endothelial cell layer, seeding neural stem cells on the vascular endothelial cell layer to make the neural stem cells be physically in direct contact with the vascular endothelial cell layer, and culturing the neural stem cells and the vascular endothelial cell layer to differentiate into neurons and branching vasculatures to form a cell sheet construct.

The present disclosure describes the use of nerve conduits as scaffolds for nerve regeneration, including spinal cord regeneration. The conduit may be hollow or contain a luminal filler such as agar or other biocompatible material.

A method of preparing an implantable biomaterial includes combining a polymer with a neuro-regenerative agent or immunosuppressive agent selected from a group comprising at least one of: rapamycin, cyclosporine A, or analogs thereof, melting the polymer, and extruding the polymer and the neuro-regenerative agent or immunosuppressive agent to form the implantable biomaterial.

A method of preparing a nerve graft includes submerging a nerve graft in a solution including FK506 and a solvent to promote incorporation of FK506 into the nerve graft. A tissue graft includes nerve tissue and FK506 incorporated within the nerve tissue. In the tissue graft, the FK506 is free of hydrogel and not encapsulated.