Electroactive and biodegradable polymers to support cell growth

Research Leaders

Prof. Ann-Christine Albertsson
Assoc. Prof. Anna Finne Wistrand

Project information

Research on conducting polymers for biomedical applications was expanded greatly with the discovery that these materials were compatible with many biological molecules. Recent studies also showed that electrical signals can regulate cellular activities, including cell adhesion, migration, DNA synthesis, proliferation and differentiation. To take advantage of electrical stimuli on the cell, incorporating the conducting polymer into biomaterials were studied by many researchers. But there are many practical problems. One of the most important questions for the applications in tissue engineering of conducting polymers is their inherent inability to degrade, which prohibits in vivo application, and the scaffolds maybe require surgical removal. So, introducing conducting polymers into biodegradable polymer to obtain a material with electroactive and biodegradable property at the same time is very challenging work.