@article{oai:oist.repo.nii.ac.jp:00002788,
 author = {Agrawal, Lokesh and Vimal, Sunil Kumar and Barzaghi, Paolo and Takashi, Shiga and Terenzio, Marco},
 journal = {Macromolecular Bioscience},
 month = {Sep},
 note = {Due to the severity of peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries, treatment options for patients are limited. In this context, biomaterials designed to promote regeneration and reinstate the lost function are being explored. Such biomaterials should be able to mimic the biological, chemical, and physical cues of the extracellular matrix for maximum effectiveness as therapeutic agents. Development of biomaterials with desirable physical, chemical, and electrical properties, however, has proven challenging. Here, we propose a novel biomaterial formulation achieved by blending the pigment melanin and the natural polymer Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate). Physio-chemical measurements of electrospun fibers revealed a feature rich surface nano-topography, a semiconducting-nature and brain-tissue-like poroviscoelastic properties. Resulting fibers improved cell adhesion and growth of mouse sensory and motor neurons, without any observable toxicity. Further, the presence of polar functional groups positively affected the kinetics of fibers degradation at a pH (∼7.4) comparable to that of body fluids. Thus, melanin-PHB blended scaffolds were found to be physio-chemically, electrically, and biologically compatible with neural tissues and could be used as a regenerative modality for neural tissue injuries.},
 title = {Biodegradable and electrically conductive melanin‐Poly (3‐hydroxybutyrate) 3D fibrous scaffolds for neural tissue engineering applications},
 year = {2022}
}