Professor Liang Le's team at Wuhan University’s Institute for Advanced Studies has published their latest research findings, Bioelectric calcium transport and activation in mammalian cells using field-focused DNA-carbon nanotube meshes, in Science Advances.

The paper introduced a novel bioelectronic interface called DNA-FOCUS, offering fresh insights into the regulation of cellular calcium signals using low-voltage electricity.

This interface focuses sub-volt macroscopic voltages onto nanoscale hotspots on the membrane surface, activating calcium ion channels by reducing access resistance and thereby triggering calcium signaling without compromising cell viability.

The team also explored the application of this technology in regulating cellular functions. Under the focused influence of DNA-FOCUS, gentle electroporation can be achieved for plasmid delivery, mechanoelectrical conversion signals can be enhanced under optical tweezers, the excitability of neural cells can be increased, and the targeted killing efficiency of natural killer cells against tumor cells can be improved.

This method demonstrates the potential application of programmable bioelectronic interfaces in cell engineering and bioelectronics.