Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and the University of Freiburg in Germany have created a compact bioelectronic platform to compare different types of electric stimulation to speed up the healing process for chronic wounds.
The study looked at the impact of sustained electric fields on wound healing in healthy and diabetic human keratinocytes. Using a bioelectronic platform researchers compared uni-directional electric guidance cues to pseudo-converging cues. They found that uni-directional cues were more effective in enhancing wound closure rate nearly three-fold for both healthy and diabetic-like keratinocytes.
This study suggests that electrical stimulation delivered in a controlled manner could be a viable pathway to accelerate wound repair. The European Research Council funded the study, and it was published in the journal Lab on a Chip.
Ref: Shaner S, Savelyeva A, Kvartuh A, et al. Bioelectronic microfluidic wound healing: a platform for investigating direct current stimulation of injured cell collectives. Lab on a Chip. Published online January 26, 2023. doi:https://doi.org/10.1039/d2lc01045c