Grant: Project Grant

Electrical activity commonly exists in our body. It transfers information through nerve and activates our muscles. So there are cells that are sensitive to electricity and are responsive to electrical stimulation. Based on this, we have been studying how to use electricity to change cell activities in order to help the repair of wound. Instead of using metals to conduct electricity, we use conductive polymers. Conductive polymers are manmade organic materials that allow electricity to pass. The advantages of using conductive polymers but metals are that polymers are more like natural tissues such as in softness and elasticity. Polymers also do not get corrosion that may produce metal ions toxic to cells. Organic materials can also be degraded. In previous years we have successfully produced three categories of conductive polymers, the composite with biodegradable polymers and the composites with biostable or biodegradable textiles. We grow human cells on such polymers and then connect electricity to the polymers. In such a way the cells are exposed to electricity. We found that under some types of electrical stimulation, human cells become more active, growth faster, move faster, and produce chemicals and proteins that accelerate the repair of wound. We have presented our results in about 30 scientific articles and many scientific conferences, which makes our group the international leader in this research field. In the next five years, we will expand our research to look at the mechanisms about how electricity affects cells, and to develop protocols to find out how the electrically activated cells can heal the wound in animals. We will use our electrical stimulation model to study the interactions between the cells that made up our skin and blood vessel. Our project combines material science, electrical engineering and biosciences, providing an excellent environment to train students.