Developing stimulus-responsive biomaterials with easy-to-tailor properties is a highly desired goal of the tissue engineering community. A novel type of electroactive biomaterial, the conductive polymer, promises to become one such material. Conductive polymers are already used in fuel cells, computer displays and microsurgical tools, and are now finding applications in the field of biomaterials. These versatile polymers can be synthesised alone, as hydrogels, combined into composites or electrospun into microfibres. They can be created to be biocompatible and biodegradable. Their physical properties can easily be optimized for a specific application through binding biologically important molecules into the polymer using one of the many available methods for their functionalization. Their conductive nature allows cells or tissue cultured upon them to be stimulated, the polymers' own physical properties to be influenced post-synthesis and the drugs bound in them released, through the application of an electrical signal. It is thus little wonder that these polymers are becoming very important materials for biosensors, neural implants, drug delivery devices and tissue engineering scaffolds. Focusing mainly on polypyrrole, polyaniline and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), we review conductive polymers from the perspective of tissue engineering. The basic properties of conductive polymers, their chemical and electrochemical synthesis, the phenomena underlying their conductivity and the ways to tailor their properties (functionalization, composites, etc.) are discussed.

New advances in tissue engineering are being made through the application of different types of electrical stimuli to influence cell proliferation and differentiation. Developments made in the last decade have allowed us to improve the structure and functionality of tissue-engineered products through the use of growth factors, hormones, drugs, physical stimuli, bioreactor use, and two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) artificial extracellular matrices (with various material properties and topography). Another potential type of stimulus is electricity, which is important in the physiology and development of the majority of all human tissues. Despite its great potential, its role in tissue regeneration and its ability to influence cell migration, orientation, proliferation, and differentiation has rarely been considered in tissue engineering. This review highlights the importance of endogenous electrical stimulation, gathering the current knowledge on its natural occurrence and role in vivo, discussing the novel methods of delivering this stimulus and examining its cellular and tissue level effects, while evaluating how the technique could benefit the tissue engineering discipline in the future.

Electrical stimulation for delivery of biochemical agents such as genes, proteins and RNA molecules amongst others, holds great potential for controlled therapeutic delivery and in promoting tissue regeneration. Electroactive biomaterials have the capability of delivering these agents in a localized, controlled, responsive and efficient manner. These systems have also been combined for the delivery of both physical and biochemical cues and can be programmed to achieve enhanced effects on healing by establishing control over the microenvironment. This review focuses on current state-of-the-art research in electroactive-based materials towards the delivery of drugs and other therapeutic signalling agents for wound care treatment. Future directions and current challenges for developing effective electroactive approach based therapies for wound care are discussed.

X-ray computed tomography has become an important tool for studying the microstructures of biological soft tissues, such as ligaments and tendons. Due to the low X-ray attenuation of such tissues, chemical contrast agents are often necessary to enhance contrast during scanning. In this article, the effects of using three different contrast agents—iodine potassium iodide solution, phosphotungstic acid and phosphomolybdic acid—are evaluated and compared. Porcine anterior cruciate ligaments, patellar tendons, medial collateral ligaments and lateral collateral ligaments were used as the basis of the study. Three samples of each of the four ligament/tendon types were each assigned a different contrast agent (giving a total of twelve samples), and the progression of that agent through the tissue was monitored by performing a scan every day for a total period of five days (giving a total of sixty scans). Since the samples were unstained on day one, they had been stained for a total of four days by the time of the final scans. The relative contrast enhancement and tissue deformation were measured. It was observed that the iodine potassium iodide solution penetrated the samples fastest and caused the least sample shrinkage on average (although significant deformation was observed by the time of the final scans), whereas the phosphomolybdic acid caused the greatest sample shrinkage. Equations describing the observed behaviour of the contrast agents, which can be used to predict optimal staining times for ligament and tendon X-ray computed tomography, are presented.

SummaryThe effect of phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and iodine solution (IKI) staining was investigated as a method of enhancing contrast in the X-ray computed tomography of porcine anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) and patellar tendons (PT). We show that PTA enhanced surface contrast, but was ineffective at penetrating samples, whereas IKI penetrated more effectively and enhanced contrast after 70 hours of staining. Contrast enhancement was compared when using laboratory and synchrotron based X-ray sources. Using the laboratory source, PT fascicles were tracked and their alignment was measured. Individual ACL fascicles could not be identified, but identifiable features were evident that were tracked. Higher resolution scans of fascicle bundles from the PT and ACL were obtained using synchrotron imaging techniques. These scans exhibited greater contrast between the fascicles and matrix in the PT sample, facilitating the identification of the fascicle edges; however, it was still not possible to detect individual fascicles in the ACL.