Cell-membrane anchored conductive polymers

Neurodegenerative diseases and neuronal disorders represent a considerable social and economic burden of aging societies. New innovative treatments are in high demand, as the classical biochemical approaches are failing completely.

Organic conductive polymers are attracting growing interest as supplementary therapeutic approaches, because of their potential of stimulating and recording biological processes with high sensitivity and a high level of biointegration.

However, very little is known about the processes underlying the formation of these electroactive polymer-biological system interfaces at the single cell and nanoscale level.

This four-year project aims at unraveling the mechanisms governing these interactions and to derive relevant methods to control them.

Conductive polymers will be assembled on cell membranes by enzymatic polymerization with the use of membrane anchors (Year 1-2).

Advanced beyond-imaging protocols, based on scanning probe microscopy, will allow to derive relevant nanoscale structure-property relationships on the model systems, by correlating their morphology with the mechanical, electrical and electrochemical properties (Year 2-3).

The behavior of the cell-polymer interface when electrically stimulated, i.e. when the polymer layer is switched between its doped and undoped form, will be assessed (Year 3-4).

This will provide the fundamental know-how to ultimately enable the development of in vivo-fabricated organic electroceuticals.