Is Graphene Shortening the Path toward Spinal Cord Regeneration?

• Published in: ACS nano Vol. 16; no. 9; pp. 13430 - 13467
• Main Authors: Girão, André F., Serrano, María Concepcion, Completo, António, Marques, Paula A. A. P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 27.09.2022
• Subjects: Graphite - pharmacology; Graphite - therapeutic use; Humans; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Review; Spinal Cord; Spinal Cord Injuries - drug therapy; Spinal Cord Regeneration; spinal cord injury; glial reaction; electrodes; tissue engineering; scaffolds; nanocarriers; neural stimulation; neural cells; biomaterials; graphene
• ISSN: 1936-0851; 1936-086X
• DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c04756

Along with the development of the next generation of biomedical platforms, the inclusion of graphene-based materials (GBMs) into therapeutics for spinal cord injury (SCI) has potential to nourish topmost neuroprotective and neuroregenerative strategies for enhancing neural structural and physiological recovery. In the context of SCI, contemplated as one of the most convoluted challenges of modern medicine, this review first provides an overview of its characteristics and pathophysiological features. Then, the most relevant ongoing clinical trials targeting SCI, including pharmaceutical, robotics/neuromodulation, and scaffolding approaches, are introduced and discussed in sequence with the most important insights brought by GBMs into each particular topic. The current role of these nanomaterials on restoring the spinal cord microenvironment after injury is critically contextualized, while proposing future concepts and desirable outputs for graphene-based technologies aiming to reach clinical significance for SCI.