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Discovery

'Welding' Neurons Opens Door to Repairing Nerves

Electrical engineering PhD students use ultrashort laser pulses to weld neurons together

By Olga Ivanova and Richard Cairney

April 09, 2016 •

Electrical engineering PhD student Nir Katchinskiy had an idea: what if you could weld a severed nerve together right after it's injured?

The essence of the idea is now reality. Led by Katchinskiy, a research team in the Faculty of Engineering has developed a method of connecting neurons using ultrashort laser pulses - a breakthrough technique that opens the door to new medical research and treatment.

Neurons are cells in the nervous system responsible for transferring information between the brain and the rest of the body. U of A research, published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, involved putting neurons into a special solution that prevents them from sticking together. The neurons are then brought into contact. When femtosecond laser pulses - each ultrashort pulse occurring every 10-15 seconds - were delivered to the meeting point of the two cells, they established solid bonds that formed a common membrane at the targeted area. The cells remained viable and the connection strong throughout multiple experiments, the study reports. The neurons took 15 milliseconds to stick to each other; the process would take hours to occur naturally.

The researchers have applied the method to three types of cells so far but believe the potential for research and treatment is unlimited. "You may not be able to go in and treat the human spine with this, but it brings you closer," says electrical engineering professor Abdul Elezzabi, who co-authored the paper and is Katchinskiy's research supervisor.

Femtosecond lasers could also prove effective in prostate, brain and ocular cancer research and treatment, according to Elezzabi. Another possible application is in post-cancer surgery treatment.

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