Significance Nanotechnology and neurobiology combined efforts might succeed in the design of hybrid microsystems that, once functionally integrated into the nervous tissue, might help in healing the injured spinal cord. A substantial challenge in this area is the development of structural scaffolds favoring spinal cord reconstruction. The future success of such smart devices resides also in the use of nanomaterials exploiting spinal microenvironment physical properties, such as mechanical and electrical ones, and their potential in promoting axonal regeneration. We synthesized an artificial scaffold based on nanomaterials with the necessary characteristics to guide axonal rewiring. The translational potential of introducing physics rules to neural tissue repair strategies was tested by implanting such a scaffold in spinal cord injury animal models.