Computational Modeling Of Drug Release From Nerve Guide Conduit Of Different Designs

Abstract

Currently there are limited effective strategies and surgical methods for repairing gap peripheral nerve injuries. Autografts are commonly used but with major limitation in the availability of donor graft material and the painful sensations at donor site. These limitations call for the development of new, effective methods for repairing peripheral nerve injuries. The use of nerve guide conduits to facilitate nerve growth and repair have shown promising potential with minimum side-effects but still with limited success in a full functional recovery. The likely clinical outcome could benefit significantly with the use of engineering methodologies in the design, fabrication, surgical delivery of the devices that maximize resulting effective nerve growth. In this study, we modeled the release of NGF growth factors in different designs of drug release conduits using finite element computational methods. Results show that the spatiotemporal concentration in models is significantly affected by design alterations. We also observe increase in axon linearity by changing coiling configuration and decreasing the NGC microchannel size. These models provide quantitative insights with time-varying NGF distribution in the microenvironment of the nerve guide conduits