Biotechnology

Neuroscience

Biology

Biomedical engineering

Materials science

Cardiology

Stimulation

Silicon

Stimulus (psychology)

Electrical conduction system of the heart

Polymer

Nanowire

Matrix (chemical analysis)

In vivo

Nanotechnology

Psychology

Ex vivo

Silicon nanowires

Psychotherapist

Internal medicine

Composite material

Electrocardiography

Electrical conduction

Medicine

Thermal conduction

Optoelectronics

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Electronic pacemakers can treat electrical conduction disorders in hearts; however, they are invasive, bulky, and linked to increased incidence of infection at the tissue-device interface. Thus, researchers have looked to other more biocompatible methods for cardiac pacing or resynchronization, such as femtosecond infrared light pulsing, optogenetics, and polymer-based cardiac patches integrated with metal electrodes. Here we develop a biocompatible nongenetic approach for the optical modulation of cardiac cells and tissues. We demonstrate that a polymer-silicon nanowire composite mesh can be used to convert fast moving, low-radiance optical inputs into stimulatory signals in target cardiac cells. Our method allows for the stimulation of the cultured cardiomyocytes or ex vivo heart to beat at a higher target frequency.

Optical stimulation of cardiac cells with a polymer-supported silicon nanowire matrix