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NANO NEURONS
Scientists at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) have successfully
grown nerve cells using an artificial three-dimensional network of nanofibers.
This development could lead to the reversal of paralysis due to spinal cord injury.

The scaffold is made up of nanofibers formed by peptide amphiphile molecules.
The key breakthrough was designing the peptide amphiphiles so that when
they self-assembled into the scaffold, a specific sequence of five amino acids
known to promote neuron growth were presented in enormous density on the
outer surfaces.

"We have created new materials that because of their chemical structure
interact with cells of the central nervous system in ways that may help
prevent the formation of the scar that is often linked to paralysis after
spinal cord injury," said Samuel I. Stupp, Board of Trustees Professor of
Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, and Medicine.

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