Endogenous electrical fields naturally exist in our body, playing an important role in bone development and regeneration. Research on ‘piezoelectric materials’ that generate electricity by themselves has been actively conducted in various fields. However, existing studies only generate mechanical-electrical signals, while configuration such as bioactivity, absorption and extracellular matrix were not possible.

The research achievements overcoming the limitation were recently introduced by a JBNU team led by Vignesh Krishnamoorthi Kaliannagounder (doctoral student, department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering), drawing attention from world academia. The study results were published in Nano Energy (IF 16.602) under the title of ‘Remotely Controlled Self-powering Electrical Stimulators for Osteogenic Differentiation Using Bone Inspired Bioactive Piezoelectric Whitlockite Nanoparticles’.

The team developed bioactive nanoparticles that promote the differentiation of osteoblasts derived from living organisms, using mechanobio-piezoelectric technique that converts mechanical force into electrical signals.

Kaliannagounder’s team synthesized whitlockite nanoparticles (WHNPs) Ca₁₈Mg₂(HPO₄)₂(PO₄)₁₂, which are inorganic bone minerals rich in our body like hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP), and proved effectiveness through various cell experiments.

Mechanical-electrical signals were noninvasively irradiated in the cell experiment with FDA-approved medical ultrasound (LIPUS) to activate WHNPs. Using osteoblastic MC3T3-E1, the team confirmed significant increase in the expression of Piezo1 and TRPV4, as well as the increase of ALP activity, calcium mineralization and bone formation gene expression.

The team is planning to confirm the technique’s applicability in a wide range of bone regeneration engineering fields through preclinical research and clinical trials.

Bio companies interested in commercialization are participating in the research already, and the technology is expected to be commercialized after evaluation by the Jeonbuk National University Interventional Mechano-Biotechnology Convergence Research Center.

The research was made possible by the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea with the participation of Vignesh Krishnamoorthi Kaliannagounder, Afeesh Rajan Unnithan, Jeesoo Park, Sang Soo Park, Chan Hee Park, Cheol Sang Kim and Arathyram Ramachandra Kurup Sasikala of Jeonbuk National University, and Nirmal Prashanth Maria Joseph Raj, Sang-Jae Kim of Jeju National University.