Abstract
Electrical and/or electromechanical stimulation has been shown to play a significant role in regenerating various functionalities in soft tissues, such as tendons, muscles, and nerves. In this work, we investigate the piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as a potential substrate for wireless neuronal differentiation. Piezoelectric PVDF enables generation of electrical charges on its surface upon acoustic stimulation, inducing neuritogenesis of PC12 cells. We demonstrate that the effect of pure piezoelectric stimulation on neurite generation in PC12 cells is comparable to the ones induced by neuronal growth factor (NGF). In inhibitor experiments, our results indicate that dynamic stimulation of PVDF by ultrasonic (US) waves activates calcium channels, thus inducing the generation of neurites via a cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent pathway. This mechanism is independent from the well-studied NGF induced mitogen-activated protein kinases/extracellular signal-regulated kinases (MAPK/ERK) pathway. The use of US, in combination with piezoelectric polymers, is advantageous since focused power transmission can occur deep into biological tissues, which holds great promise for the development of non-invasive neuroregenerative devices.
Highlights
Neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, have devastating effects on the life of more than 30 million people worldwide[1,2,3]
PC12 cells cultured on the piezoelectric β-polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were exposed to US for 10 minutes, five times per day
The phase of β-PVDF and α-PVDF is almost pure according to the calculation using the method reported in literature[34]
Summary
Neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, have devastating effects on the life of more than 30 million people worldwide[1,2,3]. Piezoelectric materials, which can generate transient charges on their surfaces upon mechanical stimulation, have attracted increasing attention because of their potential application for remote control, regenerative therapy[20, 21] They have been used as piezoelectric nanoparticles, such as boron nitride and barium titanate, to demonstrate www.nature.com/scientificreports/. Arinzeh’s group demonstrated the feasibility of using electrospun piezoelectric P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds for enhanced proliferation and stimulation of stem and neuron cells[26,27,28]. Those studies were conducted under static conditions where the influence of the piezoelectric P(VDF-TrFE) property on the cell fate under dynamic stimulation was not investigated. The capability of US stimulated β-PVDF membranes to induce neuronal differentiation is non-invasive and allows for spatially precise, long-term therapy, making it an ideal candidate for the development of novel neuroregenerative devices
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
