To this end, we built a new bioelectrosynthesis platform. This smart technology enables precise, switch-like control of cell signaling through the on-demand production of signaling molecules. Created by Professor Jimin Park from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, this innovative technology was brought to fruition in collaboration with Professor Jihan Kim’s research group. The platform has incredible promise in improving areas such as neuroscience, immunology and vascular biology.
This bioelectrosynthesis platform holds promise not only for more readily generating nitric oxide, but for producing ammonia using just electrical signals. This capability is the Holy Grail breakthrough. Nitric oxide and ammonia are crucial components of many key cellular functions, but producing and controlling them from outside the cell remains a challenge due to their chemical instability and gaseous state. By leveraging electrical stimulation, the platform provides an exciting and innovative tool to more precisely control the activity of these critical signaling molecules.
Mechanism of Action
The enabling technology of the platform is its ability to produce therapeutic signaling molecules in a spatiotemporally defined manner. Researchers already proved that electrochemically produced nitric oxide achieves TRPV1 channel activation on human cells. These channels are central to perceiving temperature and chemical noxious stimulus, which makes them critical in several pathophysiological processes.
Beyond nitric oxide production, the platform offers a green method to produce ammonia. Ammonia was demonstrated to cause a rise in intracellular pH and opens OTOP1 proton channels. This dual capability encourages the use of a more flexible cellular control strategy. Researchers take on new, powerful tools to manipulate cellular environments and actively study the effects on cell behavior.
The international research team, led at UBC, recently published their findings in Angewandte Chemie. Second, they underscore the platform’s important and emerging role in cell signaling. The full publication can be accessed via DOI: 10.1002/ange.202508192.
Applications and Implications
This bioelectrosynthesis platform has far-reaching implications across biological systems. Even more remarkable is its ability to regulate production of both nitric oxide and ammonia. ICRF opens exciting new pathways to study, and one day cure, complex disorders of the nervous, immune and vascular systems. By providing unprecedented control over these important signaling molecules, researchers have been able to investigate the precise role they play in cellular communication and behavior.
The platform is truly a powerful and flexible tool. This flexibility introduces exciting possibilities whereby researchers can engineer different signaling responses to suit their particular experimental goals. Such flexibility has the potential to inform sweeping progress in therapeutic strategies. It will be especially valuable for diseases that are rooted in complex signaling networks, such as chronic pain treatment and immune system regulation.
This combination of electrical signals to produce these molecules provides a revolutionary new method. This technique might change the way scientists around the world investigate the dynamic world of cell signaling. The platform accelerates experimental workflows by removing the inefficiency associated with classic molecule design. It equally increases your ability to control cellular environments, creating a more efficient and streamlined workflow.