Biomaterials-Tissue Interaction of an Injectable Collagen-Genipin Gel in a Rodent Hemi- Resection Model of Spinal Cord Injury By

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a significant health issue resulting in life-long disability and associated secondary complications, affecting approximately 300,000 individuals in the United States. Primary barriers to functional recovery after SCI include the formation of a growth inhibitory astrocyte scar at the lesion border and a lack of a supportive stroma within the defect allowing for axon regeneration. Interestingly, in animals capable of spinal cord regeneration, astrocytes create a tissue bridge across the injury site to facilitate the regeneration of axons through the defect and thus enable functional recovery. The overall goal of this thesis was to develop an injectable collagen-genipin (Col-Gen) hydrogel to facilitate the intrinsic regenerative response after SCI by promoting the population of the defect with astrocytes through a provisional scaffold pennissive of astrocyte migration. The specific aim