Electrical Stimulation Enhances Cellular/Molecular Functions of Osteoblasts Relevant to New Bone Formation in Vitro
Abstract
The static conditions conventionally used in tissue-culture do not represent the biophysical milieu of bone in vivo and, thus, leave cells without stimuli which may affect functions pertinent to new bone formation. Bone in vivo exists in a dynamic environment subject to various, such as mechanical and electrical stimulation, specifically, when applied to osteotomies created in animal models, resulted in accelerating healing of the damaged bone (Bassett et al., 1969; Black et al., 1986). These animal studies provided evidence that electrical stimulation promotes bones regeneration and became the impetus to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation at the cellular/molecular level. It is, therefore, our hypothesis that electrical stimulation enhances in vitro osteoblast functions that are pertinent to new bone formation. In addition, application of electrical stimulation to tissue engineering endeavors is one possible method to overcome the limitations inherent in new bone formation under static cell culture conditions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 25, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA412364
Entities
People
- B. P. Arulanandam
- D. W. Metzger
- K. R. Ullmann
- P. R. Supronowicz
- Pulickel Ajayan
Organizations
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute