Bioresorbable, wireless, and battery-free system for electrotherapy and impedance sensing at wound sites

Science Advances · 2023 · 178 citations

• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Computer Science

Chronic wounds, particularly those associated with diabetes mellitus, represent a growing threat to public health, with additional notable economic impacts. Inflammation associated with these wounds leads to abnormalities in endogenous electrical signals that impede the migration of keratinocytes needed to support the healing process. This observation motivates the treatment of chronic wounds with electrical stimulation therapy, but practical engineering challenges, difficulties in removing stimulation hardware from the wound site, and absence of means to monitor the healing process create barriers to widespread clinical use. Here, we demonstrate a miniaturized wireless, battery-free bioresorbable electrotherapy system that overcomes these challenges. Studies based on a splinted diabetic mouse wound model confirm the efficacy for accelerated wound closure by guiding epithelial migration, modulating inflammation, and promoting vasculogenesis. Changes in the impedance provide means for tracking the healing process. The results demonstrate a simple and effective platform for wound site electrotherapy.

Conducting Polymers for Tissue Regeneration <i>in Vivo</i>

Chemistry of Materials · 2020 · 78 citations

• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical engineering

Conducting polymers (CPs) have unique electroactive properties that have inspired significant investigation into their use as biomaterials (CP-BMs) for regenerative engineering. Their physical and optoelectronic properties, including bulk mixed electronic/ionic conduction, enable the fabrication of a multifunctional biomaterial that passively affects cellular response and modulates electric field, charge injection, or drug delivery, allowing these materials to actively affect tissue regeneration processes. While material and device dependent cellular responses have been observed in vitro, fewer studies have attempted to translate these types of materials and methods to in vivo models. In this Perspective, we assess the CP-BM literature for nerve, spinal cord, bone, and skin regeneration applications with a comprehensive look at in vivo studies, which present an informative illustration of current progress and the state of the field.

Stretchable, dynamic covalent polymers for soft, long-lived bioresorbable electronic stimulators designed to facilitate neuromuscular regeneration

Nature Communications · 2020 · 276 citations

• Computer Science
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology

Bioresorbable electronic stimulators are of rapidly growing interest as unusual therapeutic platforms, i.e., bioelectronic medicines, for treating disease states, accelerating wound healing processes and eliminating infections. Here, we present advanced materials that support operation in these systems over clinically relevant timeframes, ultimately bioresorbing harmlessly to benign products without residues, to eliminate the need for surgical extraction. Our findings overcome key challenges of bioresorbable electronic devices by realizing lifetimes that match clinical needs. The devices exploit a bioresorbable dynamic covalent polymer that facilitates tight bonding to itself and other surfaces, as a soft, elastic substrate and encapsulation coating for wireless electronic components. We describe the underlying features and chemical design considerations for this polymer, and the biocompatibility of its constituent materials. In devices with optimized, wireless designs, these polymers enable stable, long-lived operation as distal stimulators in a rat model of peripheral nerve injuries, thereby demonstrating the potential of programmable long-term electrical stimulation for maintaining muscle receptivity and enhancing functional recovery.