Bioelectric Approaches in Wound Healing and Infection Management

Healthy skin sustains a native transepithelial potential that plays a pivotal role in directing cell migration, regulating inflammation and maintaining barrier integrity. Injury disrupts this bioelectric landscape, creating an opportunity to harness exogenous electrical stimuli to accelerate repair and inhibit microbial colonisation. Contemporary bioelectric strategies encompass a spectrum of technologies, from ionic dressings that employ redox-active metals to wireless systems powered by embedded electrocouples, and battery-powered patches delivering controlled currents. These modalities can promote keratinocyte and fibroblast migration, modulate growth factor signalling and generate reactive oxygen species to destabilise bacterial biofilms. More recently, piezoelectric and sonopiezoelectric hydrogels have emerged, converting mechanical cues into localised electric fields that both eliminate pathogens and stimulate angiogenesis via up-regulation of FAK and AKT pathways. Collectively, these interventions offer a tunable, non-pharmacological means to manage chronic ulcers, burn wounds and post-operative infections, with potential applications ranging from advanced dressings to protective personal equipment. Ongoing research seeks to optimise field strength, timing and material biocompatibility to maximise therapeutic efficacy while ensuring patient comfort and ease of use.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that fabrics capable of generating weak electrical potentials can inactivate enveloped viruses by perturbing particle surface charge. In one investigation, contact with a patterned electroceutical textile producing approximately 0.5 V led to a rapid reduction in viral zeta potential, aggregation of virions and complete loss of infectivity. These findings provide a mechanistic rationale for integrating such materials into personal protective equipment and support broader exploration of bioelectric fabrics to mitigate pathogen transmission in clinical settings.

Bioelectric Approaches in Wound Healing and Infection Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in bioelectric approaches in wound healing and infection management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Transepithelial potential: The voltage difference across an intact epithelial tissue generated by directed ion transport.

Electroceutical dressing: A wound dressing that applies electrical stimulation to modulate the wound microenvironment and microbial viability.

Wireless electroceutical dressing: A self-activated electroceutical dressing powered by a micro-voltage generated from embedded redox couples upon contact with wound fluid.

Piezoelectric effect: The ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress.

Zeta potential: The electrical potential at the shear plane of a particle or microorganism, reflecting its surface charge and stability in suspension.

Biofilm: A structured community of microbial cells encased in a self-produced extracellular matrix adhering to a surface.

References

1. Piezoelectric dual-network tough hydrogel with on-demand thermal contraction and sonopiezoelectric effect for promoting infected-joint-skin-wound healing via FAK and AKT signaling pathways. National Science Review (2025).
2. Improvement of Human Keratinocyte Migration by a Redox Active Bioelectric Dressing. PLOS ONE (2014).
3. Silver-Zinc Redox-Coupled Electroceutical Wound Dressing Disrupts Bacterial Biofilm. PLOS ONE (2015).
4. Electroceutical fabric lowers zeta potential and eradicates coronavirus infectivity upon contact. Scientific Reports (2021).
5. Electrochemical Devices in Cutaneous Wound Healing. Bioengineering (2023).
6. A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Fabric-Based Wireless Electroceutical Dressing Compared to Standard-of-Care Treatment Against Acute Trauma and Burn Wound Biofilm Infection. Advances in Wound Care (2023).
7. Preclinical Studies of the Antimicrobial and Wound-Healing Effects of the High-Intensity Optical Irradiation “Zarnitsa-A” Apparatus. Applied Sciences (2023).