Figure 2.

Summarized schematic of the structural repair strategies used for improving existing hollow nerve guidance conduits. Repair strategies include the use of intraluminal guidance structures and micro-grooved luminal designs to provide additional structure support and topographical guidance to regenerating axons and migrating Schwann cells. A similar strategy involves using electrospun fibrous conduits with the advantages of high flexibility and porosity, a high surface area-volume and fibres that can be aligned for guided Schwann cell migration and proliferation and axonal growth. Variations in conduit design include the use of multi-channel conduits for control of axonal dispersion, as well as designs which optimize nutrient exchange or introduce external stimuli. These designs may be used alone or in combination, but also require further surface functionalization. These surface modifications can increase cell adhesion, migration, alignment and proliferation.