Epineurium-mimicking chitosan conduits for peripheral nervous tissue engineering

• We present a new method for obtaining epineurium-mimicking tubular conduits.
• The method is based on electrodeposition phenomenon.
• Chitosan is used as a polycationic polymer reduced on the cathode.
• The method characterizes with off-the-shelf convenience.
• Mimesis is obtained through enrichment with hyaluronic acid and/or collagen.

In this investigation, we report on a fabrication method of epineurium-mimicking tubular conduits based on electrodeposition from chitosan solution. The pre-enrichment of electrodeposition solution with hyaluronic acid and/or collagen components results in structures which structural, morphological, and physicochemical properties can be controlled. In order to determine the optimal composition of the initial chitosan solution resulting in conduits meeting the requirements imposed on peripheral nerve implants, we perform chemical, physical, and biological studies. Both the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid and the concentration of additives are found to be crucial for the final mechanical as well as biological performance of conduits. Because, the obtained structures show biocompatibility when contacting with a mouse hippocampal cell line (mHippoE-18), we further plan to test their application potential on an animal model.