The Use of Chitosan-Based Scaffolds to Enhance Regeneration in the Nervous System - International Review of Neurobiology - page 50

Chitosan is biocompatible, biodegradable, and its chemicophysical proper-
ties can be easily manipulated with the goal to create scaffolds with different
structural features (i.e., biodegradation time or surface properties).
Figure 1.1 summarizes the most cited chitosan and chitosan-blend nerve
conduits ( Fig. 1.1 A-C) as well as the most frequently investigated surface
modifications of chitosan-based nerve conduits ( Fig. 1.1 D-I).
After reviewing the literature regarding the use of chitosan in neural
repair approaches, it can be foreseen that the time for clinical trials utilizing
chitosan-based nerve regeneration-promoting devices

is approaching

quickly.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research leading to this chapter has received funding from the European Community's
Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-HEALTH-2011) under grant agreement no. 278612
(BIOHYBRID).

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