A Brazilian periodical published an interview with Serhii Kyrylenko (Chief Researcher at the Center for Biomedical Research at the SumDU Medical Institute).

The periodical is devoted to new approaches in treating peripheral nerve injuries.

The article states that peripheral nerve injuries are a serious problem. They can affect both abilities to move and his or her sensitivity to physical and chemical properties of the environment. According to experts, it is relatively easy to diagnose these injuries. The treatment process is quite complicated.

The standard surgical technique for treating peripheral nerve injuries involves use of autografts, which are segments of nerve fibers taken from a donor site in the patient’s body to fill in the damaged area. However, this approach has limitations, as the donor segment leaves new damage at the site of its removal. Experts recognize that the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries has not evolved significantly over the past 100 years.

However, the results of innovative research by a group of scientists, including representatives of Sumy State University, are encouraging. They propose MXenes for neuronal regeneration. MXenes are a new class of two-dimensional nanomaterials with high electrical conductivity, which is an ideal material for use in neural conduits. In addition, MXenes are biocompatible and non-toxic, and thus safe for medical use.

“Recently, at the Nerve Regeneration Laboratory of the University of Campinas (UNICAMp), together with Prof. Alessandre Oliveira, we started a series of experiments in laboratory animals to prove the concept of conductive polymeric neural conduits based on MXenes to support neural regeneration. The experiments are still ongoing, but there are already encouraging results. In fact, animals treated with the new structures regain the ability to use the damaged limb much faster than with traditional neurosurgery.

This type of cutting-edge research requires many laboratories to join forces to find new solutions to old problems. To develop conductive polymeric conduits, we organized a multidisciplinary consortium of eight universities and three research companies from Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Finland, Portugal, and Brazil. Our work has been supported by the research grant HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01 101131147 ESCULAPE from the European Commission. Only together can we face the challenges of neuronal regeneration and other fields of science and technology!”, – said Sergiy Kyrylenko in an interview for the Latin American periodical.