AuNPs@PDA-PLGA nanomembrane combined with electrical stimulation promotes spinal cord injury recovery

Electroconductive biomaterials combined with bioelectrical stimulation as a treatment for nerve injury has attracted extensive attention in recent years. This study investigated the effect of AuNPs@PDAPLGA nanomembrane combined with electrical stimulation (ES) on promoting functional recovery of spinal cord injury (SCI). In this study, an AuNPs@PDA-PLGA was prepared and its characterization and biological properties were determined by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effects of AuNPs@PDA-PLGA nanomembranes combined with ES on NSCs were evaluated in vitro. Finally, BBB score and immunohistochemical staining were used to confirm the therapeutic effect of AuNPs@PDA-PLGA nanomembrane combined with ES on recovery of SCI. The results showed that AuNPs@PDA-PLGA nanomembrane had good property for NSCs growth. Nanomembrane combined with ES could effectively promote the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs. Animal experiments results showed that the combination of AuNPs@PDA-PLGA nanomembrane and ES could promote the regeneration of new neurons and the formation of neuronal synapses, thus decrease cavity area, which all contribute to the functional recovery of spinal cord injury. Our results suggest that AuNPs@PDA-PLGA nanomembrane combined with ES can effectively promote functional recovery of SCI and provide a promising therapeutic option for SCI treatment. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study investigated the therapeutic effect of AuNPs@PDAPLGA nanomembrane combined with electrical stimulation (ES) on spinal cord injury (SCI). The results showed that the nanomembrane combined with ES could promote the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs), as well as the regeneration of new neurons and formation of neuronal synapses, contributing to the functional recovery of SCI.