Autologous nerve grafts are widely used in bridging critical gaps of peripheral nerves, but they remain associated with high morbidity of the donor site and lack of full recovery. As an alternative, we have focused on chitosan nerve conduits filled with a heparin-incorporated fibrin-fibronectin matrix serving as delivery systems for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The artificial nerve conduits were used for repairing sciatic nerve defects of 10 mm in adult rats. Three months post-operation, the conduction velocity recovery index (CVRI) and the muscle restoration rate (MRR) in animals of the experimental group were 32 +/- A 4.1 and 77.4 +/- A 7.9%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of the PBS control group (17.8 +/- A 1.9 and 66.7 +/- A 6.5%), and similar to those of the autograft group (38.4 +/- A 3.9 and 81.3 +/- A 7.8%). These results were also consistent with the densities of regenerated axons in the three groups, which were demonstrated by histomorphological analysis.