Aligned Electroactive Electrospun Fibrous Scaffolds for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Effective repair and functional recovery of large peripheralnervedeficits are urgent clinical needs. A biofunctional electroactivescaffold typically acts as a "bridge" for the repairof large nerve defects. In this study, we constructed a biomimeticpiezoelectric and conductive aligned polypyrrole (PPy)/polydopamine(PDA)/poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) electrospun fibrous scaffoldto improve the hydrophilicity and cellular compatibility of PLLA andrestore the weakened piezoelectric effect of PDA, which is beneficialin promoting Schwann cell differentiation and dorsal root ganglionneuronal extension and alignment. The aligned PPy/PDA/PLLA fibrousscaffold bridged the sciatic nerve of Sprague-Dawley rats witha 10 mm deficit, prevented autotomy, and promoted nerve regenerationand functional recovery, thereby activating the calcium and AMP-activatedprotein kinase signaling pathways. Therefore, electroactive fibrousscaffolds exhibit great potential for neural tissue regeneration.