LINCE developed light-sensitive devices based on novel functional materials for optical regulation of living cells functions.
The possibility to control the activity of biological systems is a timeless mission for neuroscientists, since it allows both to understand specific functions and to manage dysfunctions. Optical modulation provides, respect to traditional electrical methods, unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution, lower invasiveness, and higher selectivity. However, the vast majority of animal cells does not bear specific sensitivity to light. Search for new materials capable to optically regulate cell activity is thus an extremely hot topic. LINCE focused on organic semiconductors as ideal candidates, since they are inherently sensitive to visible light and highly biocompatible, sustain both ionic and electronic conduction, can be functionalized with biomolecules and drugs. The application of organic semiconductors in biotechnology was significantly broadened within LINCE lifespan, and open issues of high biological relevance, in both neuroscience and regenerative medicine, could be successfully addressed by taking advantage of the proposed approach.
In particular, LINCE demonstrated new devices for: (i) regulation of astrocytes functions, active in many fundamental processes of the central nervous system and in pathological disorders; (ii) effective control of cell migration and maturation processes, by acting on intracellular redox metabolism in a non-detrimental manner, in several cell models, relevant form a therapeutic point of view, including endothelial progenitors, epithelial cells, adipose stem cells and neural progenitors; (iii) control of tissue regeneration and animal behavior; device biocompatibility and efficacy in therapeutically relevant 3D systems and in vivo was successfully reported.
LINCE tools are sensitive to visible and NIR light, flexible, biocompatible, and easily integrated with any standard physiology set-up. They combine electrical, chemical and thermal stimuli, offering high spatio-temporal resolution, reversibility, specificity and yield. The combination of all these features is still not achievable by currently available technologies, and sizable impact is expected in the application to cell-based therapies, implantable organoids, and overall in the field of regenerative medicine.
In brief, LINCE made available to neuroscientists and medical doctors unprecedented tools for both in vitro and in vivo investigation, based on optical stimulation of biocompatible materials while avoiding the need for genetic manipulation.
