Abstract
Electrical signaling is known as the means for inter-cellular connectivity among neural cells. However, there are some indications that optical phenomena can occur in the neuronal cells based on biochemical processes in intra-or extracellular reactions. Also, external optical signals can be used to manipulate engineered neural cells for performing key functions. Motivated by these, this paper establishes a framework on photon transmission inside nerve fiber using optical properties of the nerve tissues to study photonic signaling. We use the same framework to analyze and propose mitigation using nanoparticles for demyelinated nerve channels- a potential cause for certain brain disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. Our study assumes photons are available. The proposed framework for photonic signaling across nerve fibers uses an analytical model of a nerve fiber’s segment that consists of physical factors, including size, Ranvier node presence, and interconnected segments. The demyelination effect on the nerve channel is evaluated by numerical electromagnetic computations. On this basis, photonic transmittance of a defected nerve segment is calculated, while demyelination takes place in different locations, lengths, and depths across the nerve segment. To repair the demyelination and enhance the transmittance of the demyelinated axon, we have performed analysis on nanoparticles such as silicon and silica quantum dots, gold nanoparticles, and gold/silica core-shell nanoparticles. Our computational models show that nanoparticles’ presence improves the optical properties of nerve configuration that indicate photons can be transmitted in the axonal routes of demyelinated channels.
Highlights
Employing electrical signals for medical applications, especially in the brain, is well understood
We faced some limitations as the absence of lossy experimental data concerning refractive indexes of nerve fiber’s ingredients and ultra-weak biophotonic signal that detecting it is a challenge; our findings provide a model of photonic transition along axonal routes between neurons, which is able to promote signaling in the neuronal networks of the brain
We demonstrated that nerve fibers could pass photonic signals through myelinated axons and analyze it via full-wave numerical computations
Summary
Employing electrical signals for medical applications, especially in the brain, is well understood. Specialists still face challenges concerning signaling from tiny brain areas Focusing on this and with the objective of designing effective treatments, new mechanisms have emerged. Despite the tiny structures of mitochondria and microtubules inside of axons, they enable optical signals to be conducted inside the nerve fiber and operate as waveguides [22]–[24]. A. Maghoul et al.: Engineering Photonic Transmission Inside Brain Nerve Fibers biophotons [25], [26]. A precise understanding of the structural concepts underlying the interaction between photons and neurons seems to be pivotal for research in nanomedicine To fill this gap, computational configurations and nanoscale modeling are employed to open relevant approaches and present initiative contributions, providing details that cannot be derived from experimental methods. Motivating by this, we propose a mechanism based on nanoparticles to repair photon transmission inside demyelinated nerve fibers that may affect modern techniques for treating brain disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s
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