The IISc said the technology could have critical applications in the production of implants. For developing the tool, the research team created a composite material from a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) base mixed with barium titanate and carbon nanotubes. The work studies the potential of electrical charge in helping stem cells grow into osteoblasts (the cells that form bone tissue). The technology aided bone regeneration that is faster than what is achieved through conventional techniques. It said the research could help design implants that integrate with broken bones and ensure quicker healing.
- According to the study, the findings could aid in developing implants that integrate with broken bones and promote faster healing.
- According to IISc researchers, electrical stimulation can help stem cells become bone cells faster.
- This technology can aid surgeons and orthopedic surgeons in creating better implants.
- The cells could develop much faster into fully formed bone cells.
- The technology could implant prostheses that fit perfectly into broken bones, allowing them to heal faster.
A tool that stimulates cells to grow faster could help them to become bone cells much faster. IISc scientists believe electrical stimulation can help stem cells become bone cells faster. This technology can help surgeons and orthopedic surgeons make better implants.
Researchers studied human femurs to understand their ability to hold electric charges when stressed. If the bones were stressed, the electric charges would have generated a charge and helped the bone to grow. Researchers have previously shown that an electrical field could cause calcium ions to flow faster into the stem cells, causing them to divide into cells faster and causing the bone tissue to grow.
To make the electrode, researchers mixed a base of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), barium titanate, and carbon nanotubes to form a compound that resembles the environment in which bone cells live. The result was that the cells could produce bone much faster than conventional methods.
Using a plastic material that reacts electrically with water to change its shape and size, allowing it to resemble the environment inside our bodies, where energy is produced that causes the bone to grow.
Researchers used a special medium placed on stem cells to monitor their growth for 10 minutes daily. The cells could grow to become fully formed bone cells much faster. Cells became full-fledged bone cells in a much quicker manner than had previously been expected.
Bikramjit Basu, a professor at the Materials Research Centre, and Hardik J. Pandya, an associate professor at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, said that electrical stimulation could stimulate bone cells to grow and develop faster. Hardik Pandya, an assistant professor at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering.
This study explores the role that charges can play in helping stem cells to become osteoblasts (the cells that form bone tissue). Next, researchers will analyze the effects of the electrical stimulation on stem cells to ensure that they grow into fully formed bones quickly. The technology is hoped to lead to better bone regeneration than is currently known.
IISc researchers said their device stimulated bone growth much faster than traditional techniques. Researchers hope to use the technology to help implant prostheses that fit perfectly into broken bones, enabling them to heal faster.
