Novel Double-Layered Conduit Containing Highly Bioactive Glass Fibers for Potential Nerve Guide Application

Peripheral nerve injuries are frequent conditions that currently have very few treatment alternatives. This study aimed to incorporate aligned bioactive glass microfibers (that belong to the SiO2-Na2O-K2O-MgO-CaO-P2O5 system) in nanofibrous poly epsilon-caprolactone (PCL) membranes to develop a new biocomposite that is potentially able to facilitate nerve growth and increase the polymer matrix's biological and mechanical properties. For the manufacture of this novel tubular nerve guide, electrospinning of PCL was performed on the surface of bioactive glass fibers, resulting in a two-layer microcomposite. The mechanical strength, bioactivity, wettability, degradation, and permeability of this new material were characterized. The preliminary results indicate that the incorporation of the bioactive glass fibers into PCL led to the development of a highly bioactive biocomposite with significantly improved mechanical properties and wettability compared with the PCL matrix alone. (AU)