Piezoelectric Biomaterial Offers Treatment Hope For Central Nervous System Injuries
Made from cellulose and piezo-ceramic particles, the new material supports neural stem cell growth and delivery to injured tissues.

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Central nervous system (CNS) injuries are a leading cause of long-term disability. While various interventions to improve injury outcomes are being researched, effective treatment options that can enhance a patient’s recovery are still lacking.
Now, a multidisciplinary team of engineers, chemists and neuroscientists from the University of Bath (UK) and Keele University (UK) have developed an electrically active biomaterial that can be transplanted into the injured region to act as a scaffold and help support the regrowth of neural stem cells (NSCs).
The new composite material, made from cellulose and piezo-ceramic particles, is designed to deliver electrical stimulus to encourage NSC growth while also directing this growth to match the orientation of the spinal cord.
“In neural tissue engineering, such scaffolds could revolutionize treatments for neural injuries and diseases,” study author Dr. Hamideh Khanbareh, an associate professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Bath, told Technology Networks.
The need for better CNS injury treatments
Despite the importance of the CNS to normal bodily function, the body has a surprisingly difficult time trying to heal damaged CNS neurons following an injury. Hindered by an imbalance of growth factors, guidance cues and inhibitory signals, the body’s attempts to regenerate these neurons still result in poor clinical outcomes.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) are examples of common CNS injuries. Respectively, these record 27 million and 0.9 million new cases globally each year. TBIs and SCIs are most commonly caused by falls, pedestrian and vehicle accidents and injuries sustained in conflict or acts of terrorism.
CNS injuries frequently result in long-term health issues and disruptive symptoms, such as headaches, vision problems, nausea, difficulties with movement or walking, weakness and other neurological problems.
Stem cell therapies show promise as a treatment option for repairing CNS trauma and injuries, though these therapies have yet to advance to the latter stages of clinical trials. Challenges have also been noted with stem cell therapies, such as limited cell survival and difficulties in integration with neural circuits.
One alternative to stem cell therapies would be to design functional implants that can help support stem cell delivery and growth-factor release while remaining biodegradable in the body so that they do not need to be surgically removed.
Functional biomaterial shows multi-pronged therapeutic potential
The new composite biomaterial is made from cellulose and potassium sodium niobate (KNN) piezo-ceramic particles — combining the most common sustainable biopolymer on the planet with a piezoelectric material that is known to be non-cytotoxic and exhibit anti-bacterial properties.
The biomaterial is prepared in a process known as directional freeze casting. This technique produces scaffold implants that look like small paper-like tubes, all aligned in a particular direction.
“Directional freeze casting is a process to create porous materials with controlled architectures,” Khanbareh explained. “It involves preparing a slurry of solid particles – in this case ceramics and polymer mixtures – in a liquid with additives for dispersion, pouring it into a mold and freezing it directionally using a temperature gradient. Ice crystals grow along the gradient, pushing particles into the spaces between crystals. The frozen material undergoes sublimation to remove the ice, leaving a porous scaffold.”
This optimizes the scaffold’s structure, encouraging the growth of neural stem cells in a specific direction as they would grow in a spinal cord –enhancing their ability to repair neural pathways and re-join tissues damaged by traumatic injuries.
The second key advantage of this new composite biomaterial is its piezoelectric properties.
“Piezoelectricity is the ability of materials to generate electric charges under mechanical stress or deform under an electric field, due to their asymmetric crystal structures,” said Khanbareh. “Piezo-ceramic particles are of interest for scaffolds because they generate surface electric charge, promoting tissue regeneration. They can be embedded in a polymer to form a piezoelectric composite with tailorable mechanical and electrical properties to match those of the host tissue.”
Electrical stimulation can enhance cell proliferation, differentiation and alignment under mechanical loading, Khanbareh explained. Piezoelectric scaffold materials can achieve this kind of stimulation in vivo by either applying ultrasound to the injured site or through the patient’s regular bodily movement.
Unlocking bespoke therapeutics
The researchers hope that biomaterials such as this could one day be used to provide bespoke treatments for CNS injury patients. For example, it could be possible to take a computed tomography (CT) scan of an injury site and use the information to construct a custom 3D implant, exactly matching the patient’s specific needs.
“Multifunctional biomaterials, such as piezoelectric scaffolds, have significant potential in the future of regenerative medicine,” Khanbareh said. “Their ability to generate electrical signals under mechanical stress could mimic neural electrical activity, promoting neuron growth, differentiation and synaptic connectivity.”
The materials may also have applications in other areas of neuroscience, such as combatting neurodegenerative disease, Khanbareh explained: “Coupling these materials with bioelectronics may enable real-time monitoring and stimulation, advancing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and brain-machine interface technologies.”
The research team plans to further develop the biomaterial and implant through additional tests of its biocompatibility and efficacy. Optimizing the material synthesis and freeze casting technique, as well as investigating manufacturing scale-up and seeking regulatory approval are also additional objectives.
Reference: Jarkov V, Califano D, Tsikriteas ZM, Bowen CR, Adams C, Khanbareh H. 3D piezoelectric cellulose composites as advanced multifunctional implants for neural stem cell transplantation. Cell Rep Phys Sci. 2025;6(1):102368. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102368