Researchers at Linköping University have succeeded in creating a close connection between individual cells and organic electronics. Using so-called atomic force microscopy, they examine nerve cells where the polymers can be anchored. ©  Thor Balkhed.

Researchers at Linköping University have succeeded in creating a close connection between individual cells and organic electronics.

The study lays the foundation for future treatment of neurological and other diseases with very high precision.

Chiara Musumeci, researcher at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, LOE, at Linköping University, said: “We could target individual cells and explore how this affected their ability to stay healthy and functional.”

The brain is controlled by electrical signals that are converted into chemical substances in the communication between the brain cells.

It has long been known that different parts of the brain can be stimulated with the help of electricity.But methods are often imprecise and affect large parts of the brain.

Sometimes, metal electrodes are needed to hit the right part of the brain, which entails a risk that the hard electrode instead damages the brain tissue, causing inflammation or scarring.

A solution for treating specific parts of the brain could involve conductive plastics, also known as polymers.

Musumeci said: “The goal is to combine biological systems with electrodes, specifically using organic conductive polymers.  

“As polymers are soft and conformable and can transport both electricity and ions, they are preferable to conventional electrodes.”

Future precise treatments

Together with researchers at Karolinska Institutet, the research team at Campus Norrköping has succeeded in anchoring the conductive plastic to individual living cell membranes.

This opens up for future precise treatments of neurological diseases.

Alex Bersellini Farinotti, a researcher at Karolinska Institutet, said: “At the moment, our results are rather general, which is a good thing, as our future research can explore what types of diseases this important tool would be suitable for.

“But more research is needed before we can say anything with any certainty.”

Previous attempts to anchor organic electronics at the cell surface have been made, but with genetically modified cells that make the membranes more receptive.

In their present study, the researchers have not used genetically modified cells and yet managed to achieve a tight coupling without affecting the cell’s other functions.

This is the first time this has been done.

To succeed, the researchers used a two-step process where an anchor molecule is first used to create an attachment point in the cell membrane.

At the other end of the molecule is a structure where the polymer electrode itself can attach.

The next step in the research is to get a more evenly distributed and stable anchoring over the membrane and to see how the polymer coupling behaves over time.

Hanne Biesmans is a doctoral student at LOE and believes that there is great potential but also many challenges left to solve.

She said: “We have taken a big step forward now. But we can’t say with any certainty that it will work in living tissue.

“This is basic research, where we are now trying to figure out the way forward.”

The study is published in Science Advances.