Issue 10, 2024

Biomaterial strategies for regulating the neuroinflammatory response

Abstract

Injury and disease in the central nervous system (CNS) can result in a dysregulated inflammatory environment that inhibits the repair of functional tissue. Biomaterials present a promising approach to tackle this complex inhibitory environment and modulate the mechanisms involved in neuroinflammation to halt the progression of secondary injury and promote the repair of functional tissue. In this review, we will cover recent advances in biomaterial strategies, including nanoparticles, hydrogels, implantable scaffolds, and neural probe coatings, that have been used to modulate the innate immune response to injury and disease within the CNS. The stages of inflammation following CNS injury and the main inflammatory contributors involved in common neurodegenerative diseases will be discussed, as understanding the inflammatory response to injury and disease is critical for identifying therapeutic targets and designing effective biomaterial-based treatment strategies. Biomaterials and novel composites will then be discussed with an emphasis on strategies that deliver immunomodulatory agents or utilize cell–material interactions to modulate inflammation and promote functional tissue repair. We will explore the application of these biomaterial-based strategies in the context of nanoparticle- and hydrogel-mediated delivery of small molecule drugs and therapeutic proteins to inflamed nervous tissue, implantation of hydrogels and scaffolds to modulate immune cell behavior and guide axon elongation, and neural probe coatings to mitigate glial scarring and enhance signaling at the tissue–device interface. Finally, we will present a future outlook on the growing role of biomaterial-based strategies for immunomodulation in regenerative medicine and neuroengineering applications in the CNS.

Graphical abstract: Biomaterial strategies for regulating the neuroinflammatory response

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
20 Sep 2023
Accepted
07 Apr 2024
First published
10 Apr 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Mater. Adv., 2024,5, 4025-4054

Biomaterial strategies for regulating the neuroinflammatory response

A. N. Galindo, D. A. Frey Rubio and M. H. Hettiaratchi, Mater. Adv., 2024, 5, 4025 DOI: 10.1039/D3MA00736G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements