Application of novel microfluidic-based techniques in peripheral nerve system (PNS) regeneration

The nervous system is divided into two parts: peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS). PNS damage occurs through chemical or mechanical injury. The presence of basal lamina in PNS nerve axons causes to regeneration, but CNS axons cannot be significantly regenerated after the injury due to the lack of basal lamina on their axons. Traditional treatments for peripheral nerve injury (PNI), such as end-to-end surgical reconnection and autologous nerve graft, are also highly limited due to disease transfer from the donor and unavailability of nerve tissue. Among in vitro methods, microfluidic devices have an improved repair strategy to study and mimic the real phenomena in vivo. Moreover, microfluidic devices can be employed to facilitate investigation of local physiology on the isolated neurites and single cell-cell interactions which occur in synapses and myelination process. They have also known as the axonal guidance systems with biochemical surface micropatterns, microtopography and gradients of soluble biomolecules. In other words, they have emerged to study disease models, electrophysiology and neural stem cell biology.The purpose of this review is to investigate recent microfluidic-based applications in neurobiology such as neuron culture, manipulation, differentiation, neuropharmacology, neuroelectrophysiology, and neuron biosensors, as well as to summarize recent advances for designing of novel microfluidic devices in the field of neuroscience.

Keywords:

PNS , Novel microfluidics , Nerve regeneration , Disease model