Wirelessly Powered-Electrically Conductive Polymer System for Stem Cell Enhanced Stroke Recovery.

Effective stroke recovery therapeutics remain limited. Stem cell therapies have yielded promising results, but the harsh ischemic environment of the post-stroke brain reduces their therapeutic potential. Previously, we developed a conductive polymer scaffold system that enabled stem cell delivery with simultaneous electrical modulation of the cells and surrounding neural environment.

Electrical modulation of transplanted stem cells improves functional recovery in a rodent model of stroke.

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability worldwide, intensifying the need for effective recovery therapies. Stem cells are a promising stroke therapeutic, but creating ideal conditions for treatment is essential. Here we developed a conductive polymer system for stem cell delivery and electrical modulation in animals.

Conducting polymer-based granular hydrogels for injectable 3D cell scaffolds.

Injectable 3D cell scaffolds possessing both electrical conductivity and native tissue-level softness would provide a platform to leverage electric fields to manipulate stem cell behavior. Granular hydrogels, which combine jamming-induced elasticity with repeatable injectability, are versatile materials to easily encapsulate cells to form injectable 3D niches. In this work, we demonstrate that electrically conductive granular hydrogels can be fabricated via a simple method involving fragmentation of a bulk hydrogel made from the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS.

Single-Cell Encapsulation via Click-Chemistry Alters Production of Paracrine Factors from Neural Progenitor Cells.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) properties affect multiple cellular processes such as cell survival, proliferation, and protein synthesis. Thus, a polymeric-cell delivery system with the ability to manipulate the extracellular environment can act as a fundamental regulator of cell function. Given the promise of stem cell therapeutics, a method to uniformly enhance stem cell function, in particular trophic factor release, can prove transformative in improving efficacy and increasing feasibility by reducing the total number of cells required.

Bioinspired Fibrillary Hydrogel with Controlled Swelling Behavior: Applicability as an Artificial Vitreous.

The vitreous humor of the eye is mainly composed of fibrillary collagen and semiflexible hyaluronic acid (HA). To mimic this macromolecular composition of the vitreous, we previously developed an injectable two-component hydrogel composed of a fibrillary gellan and a semiflexible polyelectrolyte, poly[methacrylamide--(methacrylic acid)], both endowed with thiol cross-linkers. We optimized the hydrogel formulations for optical, physical, mechanical, and transport properties approximating those of the vitreous.

Biomimetic hydrogel with tunable mechanical properties for vitreous substitutes.

Unlabelled: The vitreous humor of the eye is a biological hydrogel principally composed of collagen fibers interspersed with hyaluronic acid. Certain pathological conditions necessitate its removal and replacement. Current substitutes, like silicone oils and perfluorocarbons, are not biomimetic and have known complications.

Investigating thiol-modification on hyaluronan via carbodiimide chemistry using response surface methodology.

Hyaluronan (HA) is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan widely researched for its use as a biomaterial in tissue engineering, drug delivery, angiogenesis, and ophthalmic surgeries. The mechanical properties of this biomaterial can be altered to a required extent by chemically modifying the pendant reactive groups. However, derivatizing these polymers to a predetermined extent has been the Achilles heel for this process.