Oriented artificial nanofibers and laser induced periodic surface structures as substrates for Schwann cells alignment

People with injuries to the peripheral nervous system, due to its poor functional regeneration, suffer from paralysis of the facial muscles, fingers and hands, or toes and feet, often for the rest of their lives. Therefore, to improve patients’ quality of life, there is an urgent need for conduits that effectively support the healing of large defects in nerve pathways through specific guidance of nerve cells. This paper describes two specific methods for achieving directed growth of Schwann cells, a type of glial cells that can support the regeneration of the nerve pathway by guiding the neuronal axons in the direction of their alignment. One method implies the exposure of a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) foil to a KrF* laser beam, that renders a nanorippled surface topography. The other method uses aligned polyamide-6 (PA-6) nanofibers produced via electrospinning on a very fast rotating structured collector, which enables easy nanofiber detachment, without additional effort. Schwann cells growth on these substrates was inspected after one week of cultivation by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM). For both methods we show that Schwann cells grow in a certain direction, predetermined by nanoripples and nanofibers orientation. In contrast, cells cultivated onto unstructured surfaces or randomly oriented nanofibers, show an omnidirectional growth behavior.