Fig. 9: Immunofluorescence assay of brains using glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) for neural expression evaluation at 4 months postoperatively.

Nanodiamond/polycaprolactone (PCL) nerve bridge (a–f). PCL nerve bridge (g–l). Autograft (m–r). Nuclear staining (a, d, g, j, m, p). GFAP staining (b, e, h, k, n, q). Merged images (c, f, i, l, o, r). Scale bar = 1000 μm (a–c, g–i, m–o). Scale bar = 100 μm (d–f, j–l, p–r). Relative GFAP level (s). *p < 0.05 compared with autograft, #p < 0.05 compared with PCL