Electrically active biomaterials for osteochondral tissue engineering: a review

Abstract

Osteochondral tissues have limited self-healing capacity due to its avascular nature, making injuries and degenerative diseases particularly difficult to treat with conventional methods. Osteochondral tissue engineering has emerged as a promising interdisciplinary approach combining biomaterials, cells, and bioactive molecules to regenerate functional bone and cartilage. In recent years, electrically conductive materials have gained attention for their ability to mimic the electromechanical properties of native bone and cartilage and enhance cell behavior through electrical stimulation. Carbon-based materials such as graphene, graphene oxide, and carbon nanotubes are widely employed in osteochondral tissue engineering due to their ability to enhance scaffold-cell interactions and promote cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. Similarly, metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles shown significant potential to deliver localized electrical stimulation, thereby improving cellular communication and tissue integration. Conductive polymers, including polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy), polythiophene (PT), and PEDOT:PSS, offer a unique combination of biocompatibility, tunable conductivity, and mechanical flexibility, making them strong candidates for advanced scaffold design in osteochondral tissue engineering. This review highlights the potential of conducting materials in osteochondral tissue engineering by discussing their physicochemical properties, fabrication strategies, and biological effects. Furthermore, current studies on the integration of conductive materials into scaffolds, their interaction with osteocytes and chondrocytes, and their role in enhancing osteogenesis and chondrogenesis are examined. By providing both electrical and structural cues, conducting materials represent a new generation of smart composite scaffolds that can contribute significantly to the development of clinically effective and durable bone and cartilage repair strategies.