ABSTRACT
Polymeric three-dimensional (3D) implants for tissue regeneration have gained momentum over the last years and have shown promising results. These scaffolds have been synthesized by various methods in order to attain optimum properties for neural regeneration. Cell transplantation either directly or encapsulated in the polymeric micro/nanospheres at the site of injury has shown improved results. However, there still seems to be a huge gap between the available strategies and their real application. One of the existing techniques that synthesizes interconnected porous gels at subzero temperature by using ice as a porogen is cryogelation. The properties of these gels can be modified as per the application by changing the polymer concentration, temperature and cross-linker concentration, which allows both soft and hard tissue cells to grow and proliferate on them. Recently, these cryogels have been incorporated with conducting polymer either during or after their synthesis in order to incorporate conducting properties. These conducting cyogels would allow electrical stimulation of the cells seeded
9.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 252 9.2 Nervous System ............................................................................................ 253 9.3 Cell Therapy for Neural Regeneration ..........................................................254 9.4 Conventional Strategies ................................................................................ 255 9.5 Fabrication of Scaffolds ................................................................................ 258
9.5.1 Delivery of Biomolecules at Injury Site ........................................... 258 9.5.2 Electrospun Fibres for Neural Regeneration .................................... 258 9.5.3 Hydrogels for Neural Recovery ........................................................ 258
9.6 Nerve Conduits ............................................................................................. 259 9.7 Conducting Polymer ..................................................................................... 261 9.8 Cryogels ........................................................................................................ 262 9.9 Conducting Cryogel ...................................................................................... 267 9.10 Conclusion ....................................................................................................268 List of Abbreviations ..............................................................................................268 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................268 References ..............................................................................................................268
