Bioelectrochemistry Group
Bioelectrochemistry Group
Bioelectrochemistry Group
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Project details
Project title: Multilayer electroactive coatings with hierarchical structure for controlled
delivery of neurotransmitters
Acronym: MultiCoat
Period: 1.10.2022–30.09.2027
Budget: 2 115 236 PLN
Principal investigator
Katarzyna Krukiewicz, PhD DSc
Centre for Organic and Nanohybrid Electronics, Silesian University of Technology
M.Strzody 9, Room no. 208C, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Konarskiego 22B, Room no. 224, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Project team
Grant agency and contract number
This research is funded by National Science Centre, Poland [Sonata
Bis-2021/42/E/ST5/00165].
Project description
Neurological disorders are the third most common cause of disability and premature death in EU, and the number of patients is expected to grow intensively over the next years. The most common neurological disorders are associated with the malfunction in the delivery of neurotransmitters – chemical messengers that transmit a signal from a neuron across the synapse to a target cell. For instance, epilepsy, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases are related to the defects in neurotransmission of gamma-aminobutyric acid, dopamine or acetylcholine, respectively. Current therapies for these disorders include the use of biologically active compounds, which regulate the secretion of particular neurotransmitters. Unfortunately, the common limitation of this approach is the fact that drugs are administrated systemically, so may affect the whole organism with serious side effects.
The aim of this project is to design a neurotransmitter-loaded material that will be able to release neurotransmitter molecules in a highly controlled, electrically-triggered manner. We are planning to use this material as a neural electrode coating, so neurotransmitter can be released directly in the nervous system. To prevent neurotransmitter from spontaneous release, developed material will exhibit a multi-layer structure, with consecutive layers differing in neurotransmitter permeability. For the fabrication of coatings, we are going to use conducting polymers, which are atypical plastics, since they are able to conduct electrical current. Thanks to this feature, we will be able to achieve controlled release of neurotransmitter – it will be enough to pass the electricity through a coating to release neurotransmitter molecules. We will use selected cell lines to verify if neural cells are sensitive to released neurotransmitters. The most successful materials will be also analysed ex vivo, with the use of a rat brain slice model. Upon project completion, we expect to provide a unique biomedical device able to stop the devastating changes in the brain resulting from neurodegenerative diseases.
Results of the project
- Publications
- Conferences
37th RoMedINF Conference: Healthcare Green Digital Ecosystems: From Data Analysis to Digital Twin, 14-15 IX 2023, Timisoara (Romania) – hybrid event, Skorupa M, Patel T, Abdullah, Shakibania S, Shukla V, Ul Haq I, Krukiewicz K: Development of multifunctional biomaterials by combining electrochemistry, microbiology and neural tissue engineering (oral communication)
4th Annual International Conference on Advances in Materials Science (AIMS), Lahore (Pakistan) – hybrid event, 29-30 XI 2023. Krukiewicz K.: Conducting polymers: multifunctional biomaterials for neural tissue engineering (keynote lecture)
74th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE), 3-8 IX 2023, Lyon (France), Krukiewicz K., Shukla V, Shakibania S: Multilayer Electroactive Coatings with Hierarchical Structure for Controlled Delivery of Neurotransmitters (poster)
XXVIII International Symposium on Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics, 19-23 V 2024, Alcala de Henares (Spain), Krukiewicz K, Shakibania S, Smołka S: Multilayer conducting polymer films for the regulation of neural outgrowth and promotion of neural-electrode integration (oral communication)
75th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 18-23 VIII 2024, Montreal (Canada). Skorupa M, Karoń K, Marchini E, Caramori S, Krukiewicz K, Carli S. PEDOT:Nafion as a highly efficient alternative to PEDOT:PSS for energy storage applications (poster)
75th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 18-23 VIII 2024, Montreal (Canada). Skorupa M, Cao E, Siwy Z, Krukiewicz K. Bilayer conducting polymer structures for supercapacitive applications (oral communication)
4th International Biennial BioMaH Conference, 15-18 X 2024, Rome (Italy), Shakibania S, Krukiewicz K: Multilayer electroactive coatings with a hierarchical structure for controlled delivery of neurotransmitters (poster)
Young Science Beyond Borders, 24-25 X 2024, online, Krukiewicz K: Surface modification as a way to induce bioactivity (invited lecture)
Recent Advances In Fundamental And Applied Sciences RAFAS 2024, 19-20 IV 2024 Phagwara (India) – hybrid event, Krukiewicz K: Conducting polymers as versatile biointerfaces (invited lecture)
International Conference on Advanced Functional Materials and Devices, 26-29 II 2024, Chennai (India), Krukiewicz K: Modulating cell-surface interactions through electroactive materials (invited lecture)
- Popularization of science
