Liquid metal-ZnO enhanced piezoelectric PVDF Nanofibrous nerve guidance conduit: Self-powered electrical stimulation for accelerated peripheral nerve regeneration.

Clinical management of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) remains a significant challenge, necessitating urgent advancements in medical science. Although autologous nerve grafting is the clinical "gold standard," its broader application is severely limited by donor site morbidity, functional variability, and dimensional mismatches. Nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) have emerged as promising alternatives, offering the potential for structural and functional neural restoration through biomimetic topological designs and multimodal biophysical and chemical signaling. In particular, electroactive NGCs have attracted substantial research interest because of the remarkable regulatory effects of electroactive materials on the PNI microenvironment and their superior efficacy in promoting neural regeneration. PVDF/LM-ZnO NGCs were successfully prepared using electrospinning technology combined with hydrothermal synthesis. The addition of LM and ZnO notably improved the piezoelectric properties, raising the piezoelectric coefficient (d33) from 0.9 to 4.6 pC/N. The fabricated PVDF/LM-ZnO NGC demonstrated excellent cytocompatibility, supporting the adhesion, growth, and differentiation of PC12, RSC96 and HUVEC cells. In vivo evaluations demonstrated that the PVDF/LM-ZnO NGCs significantly improved functional recovery of sciatic nerve injuries in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Western blot analyses confirmed the increased expression of the neurotrophic factor NT-3, further confirming its regenerative potential. By integrating piezoelectric-triboelectric nanogenerators (PTNGs) with PVDF/LM-ZnO NGCs, self-powered NGCs were successfully developed. Cellular experiments revealed that the electrical stimulation (ES) generated by PTNG outperformed the external ES in inducing neural cell proliferation, axonal elongation, and functional marker expression. Compared with non-self-powered counterparts, self-powered NGCs demonstrated superior capabilities in promoting cellular adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, indicating enhanced therapeutic potential for PNI repair.