UConn Students and Faculty Recognized by Nature Communications as Top 25 Health Sciences Articles of 2023

April 2, 2024 | Jordan Baker, Center for Clean Energy Engineering

UConn Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student had her paper, “Injectable and Biodegradable Piezoelectric Hydrogel for Osteoarthritis Treatment” listed as one of Nature Communication’s Top 25 Health Sciences Articles of 2023. Tra Vinikoor, who is a graduate student within\ the Department of Biomedical Engineering as well as the Center for Clean Energy Engineering (C2E2), was the lead on the paper. There were numerous contributors, two of which are also from C2E2, her advisor, Prof. Thanh Nguyen and Post Doc Somasundaram Prasadh, as well as collaborators from various disciplines across UConn’s College of Engineering and UConn Health. This paper is a part of a group of articles that were the most downloaded throughout the year and that highlight valuable research from an international community.

Their article explores alternative solutions to osteoarthritis treatment that works to do more than alleviate symptoms. Current treatments that use analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs only relieve symptoms, but they are presenting an option that will help to heal the cartilage. They have created a biodegradable piezoelectric hydrogel which can be injected into the joints and produce electrical cues under ultrasounds to spark healing.

This treatment aims to serve as a better alternative to standard treatments and surgeries that don’t ultimately heal the damaged tissue, as well as serve as a greener option. The injectable piezoelectric hydrogel carries thousands of nanofibers that act like small batteries and self-produce electricity under the ultrasounds. These batteries are special, meaning they are safe for the body and biodegradable, promoting green energy for body healing. Long term, there is the hope to use this same approach on other tissues and organs to further promote body healing through greener options.

Tra Vinikoor (left) and Prof. Thanh Nguyen (right) in the lab. (Contributed photo)