Application of fibrin-based hydrogels for nerve protection and regeneration after spinal cord injury

Abstract

Traffic accidents, falls, and many other events may cause traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCIs), resulting in nerve cells and extracellular matrix loss in the spinal cord, along with blood loss, inflammation, oxidative stress (OS), and others. The continuous development of neural tissue engineering has attracted increasing attention on the application of fibrin hydrogels in repairing SCIs. Except for excellent biocompatibility, flexibility, and plasticity, fibrin, a component of extracellular matrix (ECM), can be equipped with cells, ECM protein, and various growth factors to promote damage repair. This review will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of fibrin hydrogels from different sources, as well as the various modifications for internal topographical guidance during the polymerization. From the perspective of further improvement of cell function before and after the delivery of stem cell, cytokine, and drug, this review will also evaluate the application of fibrin hydrogels as a carrier to the therapy of nerve repair and regeneration, to mirror the recent development tendency and challenge.

Biofabrication of natural hydrogels for cardiac, neural, and bone Tissue engineering Applications

“…Others have used fibrin hydrogels as well for neural tissue engineering applications, due to its excellent biocompatibility, plasticity, flexibility, ability to incorporate cells and growth factors, and because it is a component of the native ECM [ 197 ]. Hasanzadeh et al have incorporated multiwalled-CNTs (MWCNTs) as well as polyurethane (PU) into the fibrin gel scaffold to increase its conductivity to promote neural regeneration [ 159 ].…”

Type I Collagen-Fibrin Mixed Hydrogels: Preparation, Properties and Biomedical Applications

“…Fibrin gels present many advantages, such as excellent biocompatibility and tunable porosity providing sufficient surface area and space for cell adhesion, proliferation and extracellular matrix regeneration [ 80 , 90 ]. They are currently used in clinics as haemostatic sealants, as glues or dressings, and are widely studied for applications in tissue engineering and bioengineering [ 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 ]. Most of the research data are obtained using of purified fibrinogen.…”

Injectable Hydrogels in Repairing Central Nervous System Injuries

“…erefore, it should be cautious when using fibrin as a biomaterial for brain injury repair. Fibrin hydrogels have seen broad applications in spinal cord injury repair [94][95][96][97][98], but few in brain damage. Some researchers developed an in-situ silk fibroin hydrogel by inducing silk fibroin solution with ultrasound and made the material more compatible with the brain by controlling the intensity and time of ultrasound [44].…”