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International Journal of Bioprinting 3D bioprinting of nerve guidance conduits

To further enhance the therapeutic potential of NGCs, Funding
developing strategic and personalized conduit selection The research is funded by the Research Foundation
approaches is essential. Specifically, the structural design Flanders (FWO) for the doctoral fellowship (1S47325N)
of the conduit should be tailored to the length of the nerve granted to Yuexi Zhuang.
defect and the stage of injury. For short-gap defects at an
early stage, simple hollow conduits may provide sufficient Conflict of interest
basic support. In contrast, for long-gap and severe late-
stage injuries characterized by scar deposition and reduced Eleonora Ferraris is an Editorial Board Member of this
SC activity, conduits with stronger guidance capacity and journal, but was not in any way involved in the editorial
regenerative support, such as multi-channel, porous, or and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly
micropatterned designs, are preferred. Moreover, conduit or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they
structure should not be considered in isolation, but rather have no known competing financial interests or personal
optimized in coordination with material properties, relationships that could have influenced the work reported
including biocompatibility, mechanical strength, in this paper.
degradation kinetics, and responsiveness to biological
signals. Particularly in the context of increasingly Author contributions
functionalized conduit materials, the influence of Conceptualization: Yuexi Zhuang
structural morphology on stem cell differentiation, drug Visualization: Yuexi Zhuang
release kinetics, and microenvironment modulation Writing–original draft: Yuexi Zhuang
should be given full attention. In terms of fabrication, 3D Writing–review & editing: Miriam Seiti, Eleonora Ferraris
bioprinting has gradually replaced traditional methods as
the mainstream technology for NGC preparation, owing to Ethics approval and consent to participate
its capacity for high-resolution and precise reproduction of Not applicable.
complex architectures and patient-specific customization.
Its advantages are further amplified by the integration of Consent for publication
growth factors and bioactive carriers into the printing
materials. By leveraging the synergy between structural- Not applicable.
material design and the advanced capabilities of 3D
bioprinting, next-generation NGCs with multi-functional, Availability of data
intelligent, and personalized features can be developed. Not applicable.
Such conduits are not merely passive structural supports,
but active participants in modulating the regenerative References
microenvironment—bridging the gap between structural
reconstruction and functional recovery, and moving the 1. Pan, D, Mackinnon, SE, Wood MD. Advances in the repair
field of NTE closer to clinical translation. of segmental nerve injuries and trends in reconstruction.
Muscle Nerve. 2020;61(6):726-739.
In summary, significant progress has been made in the doi: 10.1002/mus.26797
fabrication of NGCs in recent years. As the field of material 2. Joung D, Lavoie NS, Guo SZ, Park SH, Parr AM, McAlpine
science and engineering technology continues to innovate, MC. 3D printed neural regeneration devices. Adv Funct
the research and development of NGCs will undoubtedly Mater. 2020;30(1):1906237.
experience substantial growth. This growth will result in doi: 10.1002/adfm.201906237
an increasing number of NGCs transitioning from animal 3. Seddon HJ. Three types of nerve injury. Brain.
experimentation to clinical translation. We believe that 1943;66(4):237-288.
by combining the right design, fabrication, materials, doi: 10.1093/brain/66.4.237
and biological factors, the development of NGCs that
can effectively repair peripheral nerve deficits is possible 4. Sunderland S. A classification of peripheral nerve injuries
producing loss of function. Brain. 1951;74(4):491-516.
within the next decade.
doi: 10.1093/brain/74.4.491
Acknowledgments 5. Johnson EO, Soucacos PN. Nerve repair: experimental and
clinical evaluation of biodegradable artificial nerve guides.
The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge De Nayer Injury-Int J Care Inj. 2008;39(3):30-36.
Stichting for supporting the Advanced Manufacturing Lab. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2008.05.018

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 57 doi: 10.36922/IJB025140120