Special Issue on Electrically Charged Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Tissue Repair

Along with chemical and structural design, electrical  design is rapidly becoming a key aspect of biomaterials with a view towards eliciting multiscale functionalities, in presence of body’s own electric fields at molecular, cellular and tissue level, that are tunable depending on the application and/ or the state of disease. Electrostatic interactions can enable effective cell and tissue targeting due to weak-reversible binding for applications in drug delivery; fixed electric charges and their density in scaffolds or implants can affect cell adhesion, migration and differentiation with implications in tissue repair and regeneration, and implant integration. Charged biomaterials promise tunability in controlling, augmenting or tailoring properties in various applications and have become an exciting new area of research and clinical work.

This special issue of Bioelectricity will focus on how electrostatic interactions are being incorporated into the design of biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue repair as a strategy to create properties that are reversible, tunable and dynamic to effectively interact with intrinsically charged cell, matrix and other biological components eliciting desirable biological outcomes.

Bioelectricity will consider articles from the full breadth of evidence: from original research papers and reviews, to perspectives, profiles, commentaries, and exemplary front matter.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Electrically charged biomaterials for drug delivery
• Scaffolds for tissue repair and regeneration
• Implant surface coatings and design
• Modeling interactions between charged biomaterials

Contributions will receive prompt and thorough peer review. Please refer to our Instructions for Authors before submitting your manuscript for consideration. Authors are encouraged to vet ideas directly with Drs. Ambika Bajpayee (a.bajpayee@northeastern.edu) and/or Dr. Mansoor Amiji (m.amiji@northeastern.edu) before submitting. 

Bioelectricity is the only journal devoted explicitly to bioelectricity research. The field of bioelectricity, much like the field of biochemistry, is becoming a foundational component of the biological sciences. The scientists who pioneered modern studies of bioelectricity have created a solid footing for the imminent upsurge in exploration: voltage, current, resistance, pH, and other familiar ion-dependent phenomena, have all been found to be generated and maintained by cells in highly conserved, energy-dependent processes. Spearheaded by pioneering co-Editors-in-Chief, Mustafa Djamgoz, PhD, and Michael Levin, PhD, Bioelectricity is published online and in print with open access options and rapid turnaround of submissions. The Journal provides a high-profile, international forum for groundbreaking original research papers, review articles, captivating front matter, debate, and commentary. Bioelectricity is an exciting and dynamic focal point for the growing bioelectricity community and is the go-to resource that will drive the field forward.