Self-Powered Programming of Fibroblasts into Neurons via a Scalable Magnetoelastic Generator Array

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Scalable electrical stimulation platforms for cell and tissue engineering face challenges like power dependency and flexibility.
• Existing methods are often limited by external power sources and microscale size constraints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a versatile, scalable, and self-powered platform for tunable electrical stimulation in biological applications.
• To overcome limitations of current electrical stimulation methods in cell and tissue engineering.

Main Methods:

• Harnessing the giant magnetoelastic effect in soft systems to convert air pressure into electrical energy.
• Utilizing 3D printing for scalable manufacturing and integration into multiwell magnetoelastic plates.
• Applying the generated electrical stimulation to fibroblast cultures.

Main Results:

• The platform converts gentle air pressure (100-400 kPa) into electrical currents up to 10.5 mA and voltages up to 9.5 mV.
• Electrical stimulation significantly enhanced fibroblast-to-neuron conversion by up to 2-fold (104%).
• Neuronal maturation was improved up to 3-fold (251%) using this platform.

Conclusions:

• The developed magnetoelastic platform offers a scalable, self-powered solution for electrical stimulation in biological applications.
• This technology has broad potential in high-throughput organ-on-a-chip systems and neural engineering.
• It paves the way for implantable, self-powered electrical stimulation devices for cellular therapy and neural regeneration.