Aligned coaxial-electrospun artificial nerve conduits for repair of peripheral nerve injuries: A review

In humans, the nervous system is divided into two: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Peripheral nerves form an extensive network that connects the brain and spinal cord to all other parts of the body. They are fragile and easily damaged. When these nerves are severed, it significantly affects the patients' quality of life, and even if the peripheral nerves regenerate themselves, regeneration does not occur in cases of major damage. There are treatment options available to support nerve regeneration, depending on the extent of the damage. One of these is the use of autografts, which is still the gold standard in tissue engineering applications. A disadvantage of autografts is that mobility in the region negatively affects the patient's life and there are various difficulties such as finding a donor. In cases where autografts are insufficient in nerve regeneration, peripheral nerve regeneration (PNR) is provided by supporting with biomaterials synthetically fabricated from natural or synthetic polymers. Although various tissue scaffold production techniques are available for the fabrication of biomaterials for nerve regeneration, producing materials that can mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) by electrospinning is frequently used today as a cheap and easy method. In this review, synthetic and natural polymers used in coaxial electrospinning technique to support nerve regeneration and the properties required for the peripheral nerve canal are discussed.