TY - JOUR
T1 - Wireless, battery-free, remote photoactivation of caged-morphine for photopharmacological pain modulation without side effects
AU - Kim, Minsung
AU - López-Cano, Marc
AU - Zhang, Kaiqing
AU - Wang, Yue
AU - Gómez-Santacana, Xavier
AU - Flores, África
AU - Wu, Mingzheng
AU - Li, Shupeng
AU - Zhang, Haohui
AU - Wei, Yuanting
AU - Li, Xiuyuan
AU - Good, Cameron H.
AU - Banks, Anthony R.
AU - Llebaria, Amadeu
AU - Hernando, Jordi
AU - Sunwoo, Sung Hyuk
AU - Gu, Jianyu
AU - Huang, Yonggang
AU - Ciruela, Francisco
AU - Rogers, John A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2025/8/1
Y1 - 2025/8/1
N2 - Chronic pain severely impairs physical, psychological, and cognitive functions. While opioid-based therapies can be effective, they are limited by tolerance, dependence, and adverse side effects, highlighting the need for safer alternatives. Recent advances in photopharmacology allow precise modulation of pain-related neuronal circuits, offering improved control and effectiveness. For delivery of light, fully implantable, wireless, battery-free optical systems in miniaturized forms offer attractive options relative to alternatives that use conventional bulk hardware and fiber optic tethers. This work presents a technology of this type, based on microscale light-emitting diodes (μ-ILEDs) and near-field communication (NFC) protocols, and optimized to activate photocaged morphine (pc-Mor) in targeted regions of the spinal cord. The unique flexible, lightweight designs ensure stable, minimally invasive operation in small animal model behavioral studies, with efficient power consumption and minimized thermal load on fragile tissues. Experimental results demonstrate effective pain suppression and reduced opioid-related side effects in an animal model of pain, thereby establishing this platform as a promising solution for chronic pain management.
AB - Chronic pain severely impairs physical, psychological, and cognitive functions. While opioid-based therapies can be effective, they are limited by tolerance, dependence, and adverse side effects, highlighting the need for safer alternatives. Recent advances in photopharmacology allow precise modulation of pain-related neuronal circuits, offering improved control and effectiveness. For delivery of light, fully implantable, wireless, battery-free optical systems in miniaturized forms offer attractive options relative to alternatives that use conventional bulk hardware and fiber optic tethers. This work presents a technology of this type, based on microscale light-emitting diodes (μ-ILEDs) and near-field communication (NFC) protocols, and optimized to activate photocaged morphine (pc-Mor) in targeted regions of the spinal cord. The unique flexible, lightweight designs ensure stable, minimally invasive operation in small animal model behavioral studies, with efficient power consumption and minimized thermal load on fragile tissues. Experimental results demonstrate effective pain suppression and reduced opioid-related side effects in an animal model of pain, thereby establishing this platform as a promising solution for chronic pain management.
KW - Battery-free optical systems
KW - Caged morphine
KW - Implantable wireless devices
KW - Opioid side effect reduction
KW - Pain modulation
KW - Photopharmacology
KW - Pain Management/methods
KW - Humans
KW - Rats
KW - Equipment Design
KW - Morphine/chemistry
KW - Animals
KW - Biosensing Techniques
KW - Chronic Pain/drug therapy
KW - Mice
KW - Analgesics, Opioid/administration & dosage
KW - Spinal Cord/drug effects
KW - Wireless Technology/instrumentation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105002229861&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/ae0b27cb-4d2d-3cc1-bf4d-7f3fab279c86/
U2 - 10.1016/j.bios.2025.117440
DO - 10.1016/j.bios.2025.117440
M3 - Article
C2 - 40220492
AN - SCOPUS:105002229861
SN - 0956-5663
VL - 281
JO - Biosensors and Bioelectronics
JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics
M1 - 117440
ER -