Project: Smart nerve Grafts based on Graphene-related composite materials with electric-triggering capability for central and peripheral nervous system regeneration

Acronym	Smart2Graph
Duration	01/03/2024 - 28/02/2027
Project Topic	The gold standard procedure for treatment after a severe nerve injury is to use nerve autograft but several drawbacks are raised. In recent years, advances have been made on the development of artificial nerve guides to replace the autograft, but no system has been able to consistently demonstrate adequate superiority. Moreover, in complex surgical reconstruction, the repaired nerve is sometimes hard to reach (due to a bone canal for example) or morphologically complex in the mean of multiple bifurcations (the repair of the brachial plexus for example). Recent years have seen the rise in silk-based materials as silk fibroin has been demonstrated to be a versatile natural polymer. Furthermore, silk fibroin is a natural, biocompatible, and biodegradable material that is readily chemically and biochemically. The Smart2Graph project introduces an adaptable foundation design of a more effective synthetic nerve guidance conduit for peripheral or central nerve repair. The project will be articulated around 3 main axes detailed in this proposal: (i) The synthesis and physico-chemical characterization of biodegradable silk fibroin and collagen matrices capable of being used as bio-ink. The presence throughout the polymer gel of graphene oxide and nanoparticles (especially magnetite) will be able to give specific features to these gels such as electroconduction, magnetism or electrically triggered drug release. (ii) These versatile matrices will then be tested for two potential processing techniques either additive manufacturing recreating aligned graphene sheets or self-alignment of graphene and iron oxide nanoparticles under electrical or magnetic fields. The aim is to obtain small (millimeter scale) tubes of polymers featuring guides of aligned graphene structures able to guide growing neurite fibers during nerve regeneration. (iii) The biocompatibility of these artificial nerves as well as their regenerative capacity will finally be tested in vitro in cultures of glial and neurons from the central and peripheral nervous system and later in vivo by grafting experiments in an animal model of facial nerve realized by clinicians. We are targeting two potential commercial deliverables. Firstly, we will develop 3D printed tube-like structures (mixed silk and collagen) with internal aligned graphene able to focus on the repair of complex nerve situation (bifurcation, brachial plexus,…). Secondly, we will work on injectable solutions with a self-assembling system aligning the graphene for hard to reach area (mostly bone canal, such as the alveolar inferior nerve, a branch of the facial nerve for example). The Smart2Graph project, through the quality and interactivity of its participants (with scientific, clinic and industrial partners), the technological innovation of the deliverables developed and the adequacy with the identified needs of the market, guarantees a rapid translation of the developed scientific results into innovative medical products (gel and 3D-printed scaffold) dedicated to regenerative medicine.
Network	FLAG-ERA III
Call	Flag-ERA JTC 2023

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
	University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest	Coordinator	Romania
	University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila, Bucharest	Partner	Romania
	UNIVERSITE DE ROUEN -NORMANDIE	Partner	France
	Yildiz Technical University	Partner	turkey
	Kazliçesme R&D Centre and Test Laboratory	Partner	turkey
	University of Marmara	Partner	turkey
	Universite de Technologie de Compiègne	Partner	France