Organic wireless semiconductors with p-i-n structure for optoelectronic stimulation of cells have been created at the Institute of Bionic Technologies and Engineering of Sechenov University. The development is an ultra-thin flexible biocompatible films, which in the future will be implanted into the body of a person who has received a serious injury. This technology is planned to be used to stimulate peripheral nerves to speed up their healing. In the coming months, scientists will conduct pilot operations on laboratory animals.
The nerve regeneration device consists of organic semiconductors – natural pigments about 70 nanomilimeters thick – a thousand times thinner than a human hair, said Alexander Markov, senior researcher at the Center for Digital Biodesign and Personalized Healthcare, associate professor at the Institute of Bionic Technologies and Engineering at Sechenov University. When exposed to red light, organic semiconductors create a weak electromagnetic field that stimulates cells without heating and makes them grow more actively. The technology has already been tested in the laboratory on cells that were placed on a solid glass substrate. And now scientists plan to test the effectiveness of the device on a flexible biocompatible silk substrate. It can be implanted into the body, wrapped around the damaged nerve, and then through the skin to affect the tissues with red light. You will not need to remove the device from the body after nerve regeneration – it does not have a toxic effect.
"If a nerve has ruptured by more than five millimeters during an injury, then surgeons do not tighten or stitch it, otherwise there is a high probability of rupture in another place," explained Alexander Markov. – Our device, which wraps around the affected nerve, is actually a "scaffolding", a kind of tunnel inside which the severed nerves will germinate and connect. And to speed up this process, we use a red light."
According to the author of the development, Elena Yusupovskaya, a second-year master's degree in Nanomaterials, a junior researcher at the Institute, silk was chosen as the substrate for the device, because it is a biodegradable material. After some time, it will completely dissolve inside the body, and it will not have to be removed. Another advantage of such a substrate is that it will be convenient for surgeons to work with it. Once in the body, silk becomes very soft and flexible – it will not be difficult to wrap it around the damaged nerve, the developer concluded.
Now scientists are preparing to conduct an experiment on laboratory rats. At the initial stage, specialists will place the implant inside the animals' body – on an intact nerve. Then, acting through the skin on the device with a red light, they will check the effectiveness and safety of the technology. At the second stage of the experiment, an ultra-thin film will be wrapped around the damaged nerve of the animal and assess how much the technology accelerates regeneration compared to the natural recovery period. After preclinical animal testing, all subsequent studies necessary for the implementation of the development in practical healthcare will be carried out. According to Alexander Markov, the conducted research gives hope that in the future the device can be used not only to restore nerves, but also for deep wireless stimulation of the brain.
Elena Yusupovskaya was awarded first place in the All-Russian Engineering Competition for the creation of organic wireless semiconductors for nerve restoration. The results of the competition, which started earlier this year, were announced on June 2 at the Technograd innovation and educational complex at VDNH.
Please note that this press release is based on materials provided by the company. AK&M Information Agency shall not be held liable for its contents, nor for the legal and other consequences of its publication.
