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RICE NEWS > Current News > 2023
Oct. 10, 2023
POSTED IN: RICE NEWS > Current News > 2023
Rice-engineered material can reconnect severed nerves
Magnetoelectric material is first of its kind able to directly
stimulate neural tissue
research illustration
Researchers have long recognized the therapeutic potential of using
magnetoelectrics [?] materials that can turn magnetic fields into
electric fields [?] to stimulate neural tissue in a minimally invasive
way and help treat neurological disorders or nerve damage. The
problem, however, is that neurons have a hard time responding to the
shape and frequency of the electric signal resulting from this
conversion.
researcher Rice University doctoral alum Joshua Chen is lead author
on a study published in Nature Materials. (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/
Rice University)
Rice University neuroengineer Jacob Robinson and his team designed
the first magnetoelectric material that not only solves this issue
but performs the magnetic-to-electric conversion 120 times faster
than similar materials. According to a study published in Nature
Materials, the researchers showed the material can be used to
precisely stimulate neurons remotely and to bridge the gap in a
broken sciatic nerve in a rat model.
The material's qualities and performance could have a profound impact
on neurostimulation treatments, making for significantly less
invasive procedures, Robinson said. Instead of implanting a
neurostimulation device, tiny amounts of the material could simply be
injected at the desired site. Moreover, given magnetoelectrics' range
of application in computing, sensing, electronics and other fields,
the research provides a framework for advanced materials design that
could drive innovation more broadly.
researcher Gauri Bhave, a former research scientist in the Robinson
lab, is a lead co-author on a study published in Nature Materials.
(Photo courtesy of Gauri Bhave)
"We asked, 'Can we create a material that can be like dust or is so
small that by placing just a sprinkle of it inside the body you'd be
able to stimulate the brain or nervous system?'" said Joshua Chen, a
Rice doctoral alumnus who is a lead author on the study. "With that
question in mind, we thought that magnetoelectric materials were
ideal candidates for use in neurostimulation. They respond to
magnetic fields, which easily penetrate into the body, and convert
them into electric fields [?] a language our nervous system already
uses to relay information."
The researchers started with a magnetoelectric material made up of a
piezoelectric layer of lead zirconium titanate sandwiched between two
magnetorestrictive layers of metallic glass alloys, or Metglas, which
can be rapidly magnetized and demagnetized.
Gauri Bhave, a former researcher in the Robinson lab who now works in
technology transfer for Baylor College of Medicine, explained that
the magnetorestrictive element vibrates with the application of a
magnetic field.
research illustrationSchematic of neural response for linear
magnetic-to-electric conversion (top two conversions) versus
nonlinear (bottom third). (Image courtesy of Josh Chen/Rice
University)
"This vibration means it basically changes its shape," Bhave said.
"The piezoelectric material is something that, when it changes its
shape, creates electricity. So when those two are combined, the
conversion that you're getting is that the magnetic field you're
applying from the outside of the body turns into an electric field."
However, the electric signals magnetoelectrics generate are too fast
and uniform for neurons to detect. The challenge was to engineer a
new material that could generate an electric signal that would
actually get cells to respond.
"For all other magnetoelectric materials, the relationship between
the electric field and the magnetic field is linear, and what we
needed was a material where that relationship was nonlinear,"
Robinson said. "We had to think about the kinds of materials we could
deposit on this film that would create that nonlinear response."
The researchers layered platinum, hafnium oxide and zinc oxide and
added the stacked materials on top of the original magnetoelectric
film. One of the challenges they faced was finding fabrication
techniques compatible with the materials.
research illustrationMagnetoelectric nonlinear metamaterials are 120
times faster at stimulating neural activity compared to previously
used magnetic materials. (Image courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice
University)
"A lot of work went into making this very thin layer of less than 200
nanometers that gives us the really special properties," Robinson
said.
"This reduced the size of the entire device so that in the future it
could be injectable," Bhave added.
As proof of concept, the researchers used the material to stimulate
peripheral nerves in rats and demonstrated the material's potential
for use in neuroprosthetics by showing it could restore function in a
severed nerve.
"We can use this metamaterial to bridge the gap in a broken nerve and
restore fast electric signal speeds," Chen said. "Overall, we were
able to rationally design a new metamaterial that overcomes many
challenges in neurotechnology. And more importantly, this framework
for advanced material design can be applied toward other applications
like sensing and memory in electronics."
researcher Jacob Robinson is a professor of electrical and computer
engineering and bioengineering at Rice University. (Photo courtesy of
the Robinson lab/Rice University)
Robinson, who drew on his doctoral work in photonics for inspiration
in engineering the new material, said he finds it "really exciting
that we can now design devices or systems using materials that have
never existed before rather than being confined to ones in nature."
"Once you discover a new material or class of materials, I think it's
really hard to anticipate all the potential uses for them," said
Robinson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and
bioengineering. "We've focused on bioelectronics, but I expect there
may be many applications beyond this field."
Antonios Mikos, Rice's Louis Calder Professor of Chemical
Engineering, professor of bioengineering and materials science and
nanoengineering and director of the Biomaterials Lab, Center for
Excellence in Tissue Engineering and J.W. Cox Laboratory for
Biomedical Engineering, is also an author on the study.
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation
(2023849) and the National Institutes of Health (U18EB029353).
Peer-reviewed paper:
"Self-rectifying magnetoelectric metamaterials for remote neural
stimulation and motor function restoration" | Nature Materials |
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01680-4
Authors: Joshua Chen, Gauri Bhave, Fatima Alrashdan, Abdeali
Dhuliyawalla, Katie Hogan, Antonios Mikos and Jacob Robinson
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-023-01680-4
Image downloads:
https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/
230427_BRC-Shoot-Josh-Chen_Gustavo-07776.jpg
CAPTION: Rice University doctoral alum Joshua Chen is lead author
on a study published in Nature Materials. (Photo by Gustavo
Raskosky/Rice University)
https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/Gauri-Bhave.jpg
CAPTION: Gauri Bhave, a former research scientist in the Robinson
lab, is a lead co-author on a study published in Nature
Materials. (Photo courtesy of Gauri Bhave)
https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/
magnetic-to-electric.jpg
CAPTION: Schematic of neural response for linear
magnetic-to-electric conversion (top two conversions) versus
nonlinear (bottom third). (Image courtesy of Josh Chen/Rice
University)
https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/MNM_pic.jpg
CAPTION: Magnetoelectric nonlinear metamaterials are 120 times
faster at stimulating neural activity compared to previously used
magnetic materials. (Image courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice
University)
https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2023/10/
JRobinson_prov.jpg
CAPTION: Jacob Robinson is a professor of electrical and computer
engineering and bioengineering at Rice University. (Photo
courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice University)
Related stories:
Rice's Cherukuri, Robinson to speak at SXSW:
https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/
rices-cherukuri-robinson-speak-sxsw
Rice U. bioengineering Ph.D. named Schmidt Science Fellow:
https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/
rice-u-bioengineering-phd-named-schmidt-science-fellow
Mikos Receives International Award of the European Society for
Biomaterials:
https://bioengineering.rice.edu/news/
mikos-receives-international-award-european-society-biomaterials
Wireless activation of targeted brain circuits in less than one
second:
https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/
wireless-activation-targeted-brain-circuits-less-one-second
Links:
Robinson lab: www.robinsonlab.com
Mikos lab: https://mikoslab.rice.edu/
Biomaterials Lab: https://research.rice.edu/bml/
Center for Excellence in Tissue Engineering: http://
tissue.rice.edu/
Rice Neuroengineering Initiative: neuroengineering.rice.edu
Rice Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering:
eceweb.rice.edu
Rice Department of Bioengineering: https://
bioengineering.rice.edu/
George R. Brown School of Engineering: engineering.rice.edu
About Rice:
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University
is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by
U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of
Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering,
Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is
home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,552
undergraduates and 3,998 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate
student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential
college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong
friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of
race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the
Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among
private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
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