Periodontitis is a common chronic inflammatory disease that affects the tissues supporting the teeth. If not properly controlled, persistent inflammation can damage periodontal tissue, promote bone loss, and eventually lead to tooth loosening or tooth loss. Current clinical assessment mainly relies on visual examination and dental radiography, while conventional treatments often have difficulty maintaining effective drug concentrations at local disease sites.
Researchers have developed a flexible, battery-free hydrogel bioelectronic patch that can wirelessly monitor periodontal inflammation and deliver localized miRNA therapy. The system, called WIRES, integrates an inflammation-responsive hydrogel with a soft radio-frequency electronic device. Without rigid battery, the patch can be read wirelessly by an external device.
The patch is designed to respond to matrix metalloproteinase-9, or MMP-9, an enzyme closely associated with periodontal inflammation. When local inflammation increases, MMP-9 cleaves specific peptide sequences in the hydrogel, causing the hydrogel to degrade. This change alters the radio-frequency response of the device, allowing local inflammatory activity to be converted into a wireless signal.
The hydrogel also serves as a carrier for therapeutic miRNA. As the hydrogel degrades in response to inflammatory enzyme activity, the loaded miRNA is gradually released and taken up by nearby cells. The researchers identified let-7c as an immunomodulatory miRNA and showed that it can promote macrophages toward a more anti-inflammatory state.
The system was validated in saliva sample and animal models of periodontitis. In saliva testing, WIRES distinguished MMP-9 levels between healthy volunteers and patients with periodontal disease, with results consistent with a commercial assay. In mouse models, let-7c-mediated immune modulation helped reduce local inflammatory responses and regulate macrophage-related immune status.
By combining wireless inflammation feedback with responsive local immune therapy, this hydrogel bioelectronic patch provides a new strategy for periodontitis management. The approach may also inspire future bioelectronic systems for other chronic inflammation-related diseases where local monitoring and timely intervention are needed.
National Science Review
Experimental study