Quantitative Biofabrication Platform for Collagen‐Based Peripheral Nerve Grafts with Structural and Chemical Guidance

Abstract

AbstractOwing to its crucial role in the human body, collagen has immense potential as a material for the biofabrication of tissues and organs. However, highly refined fabrication using collagen remains difficult, primarily because of its notably soft properties. A quantitative biofabrication platform to construct collagen‐based peripheral nerve grafts, incorporating bionic structural and chemical guidance cues, is introduced. A viscoelastic model for collagen, which facilitates simulating material relaxation and fabricating collagen‐based neural grafts, achieving a maximum channel density similar to that of the native nerve structure of longitudinal microchannel arrays, is established. For axonal regeneration over considerable distances, a gradient printing control model and quantitative method are developed to realize the high‐precision gradient distribution of nerve growth factor required to obtain nerve grafts through one‐step bioprinting. Experiments verify that the bioprinted graft effectively guides linear axonal growth in vitro and in vivo. This study should advance biofabrication methods for a variety of human tissue‐engineering applications requiring tailored cues.