Biomaterials based on conducting biodegradable and biocompatible polymers

Abstract

The development of biomaterials with the capacity to be electrically active and biocompatible with many types of cells have attracted considerable interest in the development of devices capable of increasing the cellular activity. In the biomedical field, the recovery of movements in paraplegic or quadriplegic, as well as new treatments for neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Epilepsy gain new horizons with this type of technology. The use of conductive polymers as substrates opens the way for the development of more robust interfaces molecular interactions between cells and the conductive polymer, providing electrical stimulus or electromagnetic field for increasing cell regeneration and allowing the development of new biosensors, and hybrid microelectrodes molds for tissue engineering. Moreover, it is quite interesting to explore the strategy of creating biomaterials that perform their function for a while and then "disappear" in the body without the need for surgical intervention and causing little or no adverse reaction. In this context, the present project proposes the development and investigation of a conductive, biocompatible and biodegradable copolymer composed by PEDOT-co-PDLLA applied to the regeneration of tissues, which shows bioactive property guiding the growth of new cells and subsequently be removed from the body without causing further damage to the regenerated tissue. With this purpose, it is important to study its performance as electrical stimulation and electromagnetic field, about the different morphologies of the biomaterial can affect cell regeneration, evaluate the potential for biodegradation of the biomaterial by enzyme and study its performance against different types of culture cells. (AU)