Carding 4 Carders
Professional
Researchers at Rice University have repaired a damaged nerve with a new nanomaterial.
Researchers have developed a nanomaterial that can not only stimulate nerves in rodents, but also connect them back together. This discovery may lead to the creation of injectable particles that will replace large implants.
To create the particles, Rice University researchers used two layers of metallic glass called Metglas and placed a piezoelectric layer of lead and zirconium titanate between them. Materials with piezoelectric properties generate electricity when exposed to mechanical forces. In this case, the Metglas shape changed under the influence of magnetic pulses, which led to the generation of an electric signal in the piezoelectric material. Such materials are called magnetoelectric.
The study's lead author, Joshua Chen, a doctoral student at Rice University, said: "We wanted to create a nanomaterial so that even a small amount of it inside the body could stimulate the brain or nervous system. Magnetoelectric materials that respond to magnetic fields and convert them into electrical ones seemed to us ideal candidates for this purpose."
Scientists tested the material on rats and found that it could not only stimulate peripheral nerves in rodents under anesthesia, but also restore the function of the severed external femoral nerve. In addition, the new material has a high transmission rate of electrical signals, 120 times higher than that of previously developed analogues.
Joshua Chen added, "We can use this metamaterial to repair a ruptured nerve and quickly transmit electrical signals. This concept of material development can be applied in other areas, such as sensors and electronic memory."
The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Materials.
Researchers have developed a nanomaterial that can not only stimulate nerves in rodents, but also connect them back together. This discovery may lead to the creation of injectable particles that will replace large implants.
To create the particles, Rice University researchers used two layers of metallic glass called Metglas and placed a piezoelectric layer of lead and zirconium titanate between them. Materials with piezoelectric properties generate electricity when exposed to mechanical forces. In this case, the Metglas shape changed under the influence of magnetic pulses, which led to the generation of an electric signal in the piezoelectric material. Such materials are called magnetoelectric.
The study's lead author, Joshua Chen, a doctoral student at Rice University, said: "We wanted to create a nanomaterial so that even a small amount of it inside the body could stimulate the brain or nervous system. Magnetoelectric materials that respond to magnetic fields and convert them into electrical ones seemed to us ideal candidates for this purpose."
Scientists tested the material on rats and found that it could not only stimulate peripheral nerves in rodents under anesthesia, but also restore the function of the severed external femoral nerve. In addition, the new material has a high transmission rate of electrical signals, 120 times higher than that of previously developed analogues.
Joshua Chen added, "We can use this metamaterial to repair a ruptured nerve and quickly transmit electrical signals. This concept of material development can be applied in other areas, such as sensors and electronic memory."
The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Materials.
