Endogenous Electric Fields: A Natural Driver for Infrared-Activated Transparent Electronic Skin in Wound Healing
A flexible, self-powered, and transparent electronic skin (e-skin) is constructed by combining endogenous electric field modulation and infrared thermal stimulation to accelerate wound healing. The e-skin comprises (1) a transparent conductive layer for real-time wound monitoring, fabricated by thermal deposition of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-functionalized carbon nanotubes (C-MWCNTs) with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS); (2) a photothermal interface using Pd@Au nanoframes for infrared therapy; and (3) self-powered electric fields mimicking bioelectric signals. Antibacterial assays of the e-skin showed >160% bacterial suppression at the peak output of 0.25-0.59 V and 90-140% suppression at the baseline output of 0.05-0.12 V. In vitro tests demonstrated 90% <i>E. coli</i> elimination within 10 min. In vivo studies on rabbits revealed a 50% reduction in healing time (7 days) via synergistic photothermal-electrical therapy. This e-skin offers a promising approach to advanced wound care.
Authors
- Su-Ping Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6619-6497)
- Weihong Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8066-1524)
- Yuting Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9587-7806)
- Futing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7306-5495)
- Wenbin Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1635-2444)
- Yueqiang Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4395-4299)
- Xiaofei Fu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3079-7033)
- Hongfen Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8367-4104)
- Ren Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2583-7133)
- Choong Eui Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9221-6789)
- Zhuo Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9943-2262)
- Man Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1390-7862)
- Dan Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0135-5110)
- Yutang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1172-7528)
- Linxuan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7413-0620)
- Ningbo Zhang
Institutions
- Hunan University (CN)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Renji Hospital (CN)
- Zhejiang Cancer Hospital (CN)
- Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
- Institute of Molecular Medicine (IN)
- Hengyang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- University of South China (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2025-10-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c04223
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Planarian Biology and Electrostimulation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.03