Nerve regeneration in an injured spinal cord is often restricted, contributing to the devastating outcome of neurologic impairment below the site of injury. Although implantation of tissue-engineered scaffolds has evolved as a potential treatment method, the outcomes remain sub-optimal. One possible reason may be the lack of topographical signals from these constructs to provide contact guidanc...

Well-aligned graphitic nanofibers on a large scale have been grown on Ni(100) wafers by plasma-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition using a mixed gas of nitrogen and methane. A two-stage control of the plasma intensity has been used in the nucleation and growth stages of the fibers. The growth direction of the fibers is perpendicular to the substrate surface and the plasma-induced Ni...

This review highlights work using the author's method for the preparation of highly aligned metallic nanofibers with one-dimensional aggregates of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) and their utilization in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) analysis. The preparation method, which is based on the process of evaporation-induced self-assembly with DNA and a drying front movement, eliminates the nee...

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) can be successfully co-assembled with Ag nanowires (AgNWs) to form a kind of AuNR-AgNW nanocomposite by electrostatic attraction, in which the AuNRs are arranged along the long axial direction of the AgNWs with a preferential string-like alignment. The assembled AuNR-AgNW nanocomposites are then further embedded within polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers by electrospinning,...

The flexible tactile sensor has attracted widespread attention because of its great flexibility, high sensitivity, and large workable range. It can be integrated into clothing, electronic skin, or mounted on to human skin. Various nanostructured materials and nanocomposites with high flexibility and electrical performance have been widely utilized as functional materials in flexible tactile sen...

Guidance of neurite extension and establishment of neural connectivity hold great importance for neural tissue regeneration and neural conduit implants. Although bioactive-epitope functionalized synthetic or natural polymeric materials have been proposed for the induction of neural regeneration, chemical modifications of these materials for neural differentiation still remain a challenge due to...

We have constructed a chitosan nonwoven nanofiber mesh tube consisting of oriented fibers by the electrospinning method. The efficacy of oriented nanofibers on Schwann cell alignment and positive effect of this tube on peripheral nerve regeneration were confirmed. The physical properties of the chitosan nanofiber mesh sheets prepared by electrospinning with or without fiber orientation were cha...