Injectable Hydrogels: An Injectable Hybrid Hydrogel with Oriented Short Fibers Induces Unidirectional Growth of Functional Nerve Cells (Small 36/2017)

In article number 1702207, Laura De Laporte and co-workers report a novel anisotropic injectable hydrogel that promotes unidirectional nerve growth in a 3D microenvironment. The hybrid hydrogel comprises short magneto-responsive fibers, which are produced via an electrospinning/cryocutting method. After injection, they orient in a low external magnetic field, while the hydrogel crosslinks to fix the direction of the matrix. The grown nerves are functional with spontaneous electrical activity parallel to the direction of the fibers.