Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2023 Conference (MATSUSFall23)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsus.2023.166
Publication date: 18th July 2023
Use of light for selective and spatio-temporally resolved control of cell functions (photoceutics) is emerging as a valuable alternative to standard electrical and chemical methods. Here, we propose the use of smart materials, and in particular of organic semiconductors, as efficient and biocompatible optical transducers in the field of regenerative medicine.
Devices able to selectively and precisely modulate the fate of living cells, from adhesion to proliferation, from differentiation up to specific function, upon visible light will be presented. Examples of practical applications, recently reported by our group, include optical modulation of the activity of both excitable and non-excitable cells, control of essential cellular switches like transient receptor potential channels and other cationic channels, as well as effective modulation of intracellular calcium signaling for precise control of cell metabolic processes. We describe fabrication and optimization of micro- and nano-structured polymeric interfaces, in the form of beads and 3D scaffolds, with different cell models. As representative examples, we report on (i) functional interaction with intracellular proteins, leading to non-toxic modulation of the cell redox balance [1,2]; (ii) a novel strategy to gain optical control of Endothelial Progenitor Cell (EPC) fate and to optically induce angiogenesis in vitro [3]; (iii) optical modulation of mesenchymal stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells physiological pathways [4]; (iv) effects of light-sensitive 3D scaffolds on neurogenesis [5]. Current knowledge about the photo-activated processes occurring at the conjugated polymer/living cell interface, obtained by complementing several physical/chemical/biological characterization techniques, is also critically discussed. The above mentioned study-cases represent, to the best of our knowledge, first reports on use of organic semiconductors for optical modulation of the cell fate, with disruptive perspectives in cell-based therapies. Future opportunities and perspective applications in regenerative medicine will be critically evaluated in the conclusions.
nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.
Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.
Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics
The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.
The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.