Electric Phenomenon: A Disregarded Tool in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 24 - 49
• Main Authors: da Silva, Lucília P., Kundu, Subhas C., Reis, Rui L., Correlo, Vitor M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2020; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Biological activity; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Cardiomyocytes; Communication; Electric currents; electrical current; electrical field; electrical stimulation; Electrical stimuli; electroactive biomaterials; Electrophysiology; Extracellular matrix; Medicine; Membranes; Muscle contraction; Muscles; Muscular function; Musculoskeletal system; Physiology; Polyethylene glycol; Regenerative medicine; Stem cells; Synapses; Tissue engineering; Wound healing; electrical field; electrical stimulation; electrical current; tissue engineering; electroactive biomaterials
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.07.002

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) are paving the way to the generation of functional and mature biological tissues that closely emulate cellular, biochemical, and mechanical cues. Electrical fields in the human body modulate myriad biological processes, such as synapses, muscle contraction, hearing, and wound healing, which were disregarded in TERM until recently. To preserve and improve tissue electrophysiology, cells can be loaded in electroactive biomaterials and stimulated with exogenous electrical fields. Here, we review how electrical stimulation and electroactive biomaterials can be used to instruct cells to create more mature and functional tissue-engineered constructs. We also highlight the most recent electroactive engineered tissues developed for TERM. The human body contains endogenous electrical currents due to the flow of ions. Electrical fields generated across cell membranes are involved in cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation, and the repair and regeneration of tissues.Electroactive biomaterials incorporating metals, metalloids, graphene and graphene derivatives, conductive polymers, and piezoelectric polymers have low resistivity. Cell behaviors, such as attachment, migration, proliferation, and differentiation, are enhanced in electroactive biomaterials.The synchronous contractibility of skeletal muscle and cardiac excitable cells can be modulated by applying external electrical fields.Stem cells can be differentiated towards cardiac, skeletal muscle, neurogenic, or osteogenic lineages by applying specific external electrical fields even without the use of differentiation cell culture media.