Credit: CC0 Public DomainA new nanotechnology developed by a Tel Aviv University research team will allow the generation of electric currents and voltages within the body by activating various organs (mechanical force). Researchers explain that the new biological material is similar to collagen and is non-toxic. It does not cause any harm to the tissues. This new nanotechnology could have many applications in medicine. It can be used to harvest clean energy from the body's natural movements and operate pacemakers or other devices.The study was conducted by Prof. Ehud gazit of the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. He also teamed up with Dr. Santu Bera and his lab team, Dr. Wei Ji.Researchers from the Weizmann Institute, as well as a variety of research institutes in Australia, China, and Ireland took part in the study. The researchers were awarded two ERC-POC grants to use the scientific research that Gazit had previously received for applied technology. Nature Communications published the research.Professor Gazit is also the Founding Director at the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery. He explains that collagen is the most common protein in the body. It makes up about 30% of all proteins in the body. It is a biological material that has a helical structure. This structure gives it a range of important physical properties such as mechanical strength, flexibility, and other useful properties. Researchers have been searching for a simpler, shorter, simpler molecule that uses collagen to produce similar properties, despite the fact that collagen is complex. Our group published a study that used nanotechnological methods to engineer a biological material that met these requirements about a year ago in Nature Materials. It is a short tripeptide, Hyp-Phe -Phe. This molecule is composed of three amino acids and can be self-assembled to form a collagen-like structure. It is flexible and has a strength comparable to the metal titanium. We wanted to see if the collagen-based material we created has another characteristic. Piezoelectricity refers to the ability to generate electrical currents and voltage by applying mechanical force or vice versa to create a mechanical force due to exposure to an electric force.The researchers used advanced nanotechnology tools to create nanometric structures from the engineered material and applied mechanical pressure to them. The pressure produced electric currents and voltage in the material, as demonstrated by the experiment. The tiny structures, which measured only hundreds of nanometers in size, demonstrated a high level of piezoelectric capability, comparable to or better than the current piezoelectric materials on the market today (most of them contain lead, so they are not suitable for medical purposes).The researchers believe that the discovery of nanometric piezoelectricity in a nanometric materials is significant because it shows the material's ability to be used as a tiny motor for small devices. The researchers will next apply crystallography and computational quantum mechanical methods (density function theory) to gain a deeper understanding of the material’s piezoelectric behaviour and enable the engineering of crystals to build biomedical devices.Professor Gazit says that most of the current piezoelectric materials are toxic lead-based polymers or materials. This means they are not eco- and human-friendly. The new material is biologically compatible and can be used within the body. This material could be used to replace batteries that supply energy to pacemakers. However, it must be maintained. The implant will be activated by body movements such as heartbeats, jaw movements and bowel movements.As part of their ongoing research, the researchers now seek to understand the molecular mechanism of the engineered materials with the aim of realizing its enormous potential and turning it into applied technology. While the current focus is on medical devices, Prof. Gazit stresses that "environmentally-friendly piezoelectric materials such as the one that we have developed have enormous potential in many areas, because they produce green electricity using mechanical force that is already being used." A car driving down the street could turn on streetlights, for example. These materials could also replace the lead-containing piezoelectric material currently in widespread use. However, there are concerns about the potential for the release of toxic metals into the environment.Continue readingMore information: Santu Bera and al, Molecular Engineering of Piezoelectricity In Collagen-Mimicking Peptide Assemblies, Nature Communications (2021). Information from Nature Materials, Nature Communications Santu Bera et al., Molecular engineering in piezoelectricity within collagen-mimicking peptide assembly, (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-22895-6
