Organic bioelectronics has recently offered various healthcare technologies such as neural interfacing electrodes, biochemical sensors, and drug delivery devices, with exciting developments on the horizon. Applications in tissue regeneration, for example, allow for the electroactive nature of organic bioelectronic materials to affect cell adhesion, signaling, and fate. Such applications require increased biocompatibility and biofunctionalization, which are limited by the organic semiconductors currently in use. Recently, collagen has been investigated as a biomimetic regenerative medium due to its prevalence in the extracellular matrix and its chemical and mechanical properties, which closely mimic physiological tissue. However, collagen alone fails to facilitate the necessary electroactive processes that could play a vital role in directing and accelerating tissue regeneration. We demonstrate a novel derivative of an organic semiconductor poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) that can covalently link to collagenous materials and augment otherwise non-conductive materials with enhanced electroactivity. This is accomplished by synthetically modifying PEDOT with <i>N</i>-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) activated acid groups that target the amine-rich structure of collagen and thus covalently bind to collagenous materials. The results of this study demonstrate a novel conducting polymer that can augment collagen-rich materials with enhanced electroactivity that may both improve regenerative outcomes and serve as a tool to investigate the mechanistic benefits associated with electrical stimulation of tissue. The outlined approach has potential beyond the functionalization of synthetic biomaterials, to natural decellularized tissue for applications in nerve regeneration and bone growth.

Molecular design of conducting biomaterial composites

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.