We report on in vitro wound-healing and cell-growth studies under the influence of radio-frequency (rf) cell stimuli. These stimuli are supplied either by piezoactive surface acoustic waves (SAWs) or by microelectrode-generated electric fields, both at frequencies around 100 MHz. Employing live-cell imaging, we studied the time- and power-dependent healing of artificial wounds on a piezoelectric chip for different cell lines. If the cell stimulation is mediated by piezomechanical SAWs, we observe a pronounced, significant maximum of the cell-growth rate at a specific SAW amplitude, resulting in an increase of the wound-healing speed of up to 135 ± 85% as compared to an internal reference. In contrast, cells being stimulated only by electrical fields of the same magnitude as the ones exposed to SAWs exhibit no significant effect. In this study, we investigate this effect for different wavelengths, amplitude modulation of the applied electrical rf signal, and different wave modes. Furthermore, to obtain insight into the biological response to the stimulus, we also determined both the cell-proliferation rate and the cellular stress levels. While the proliferation rate is significantly increased for a wide power range, cell stress remains low and within the normal range. Our findings demonstrate that SAW-based vibrational cell stimulation bears the potential for an alternative method to conventional ultrasound treatment, overcoming some of its limitations.

我们报告了射频（rf）细胞刺激的影响下的体外伤口愈合和细胞生长研究。这些刺激是由压电活性表面声波（SAW）或微电极产生的电场提供的，两者的频率都在100 MHz附近。利用活细胞成像，我们研究了针对不同细胞系的压电芯片上人工伤口的时间依赖性和功率依赖性愈合。如果细胞的刺激是由压电机械声表面波介导的，我们观察到在特定的声表面波振幅下，细胞的生长速度有明显的最大增长，与伤口愈合速度相比，伤口愈合速度提高了135±85％。内部参考。相反，仅由与暴露于SAW的电场强度相同的电场刺激的细胞没有表现出明显的作用。在这个研究中，我们针对不同的波长，所施加的射频电信号的幅度调制以及不同的波模式研究了这种影响。此外，为了深入了解对刺激的生物学反应，我们还确定了细胞增殖率和细胞应激水平。尽管在较宽的功率范围内增殖率显着提高，但细胞应激仍然很低，处于正常范围内。我们的发现表明，基于SAW的振动细胞刺激具有克服常规超声治疗替代方法的潜力，克服了其一些局限性。我们还确定了细胞增殖率和细胞应激水平。尽管在较宽的功率范围内增殖率显着提高，但细胞应激仍然很低，处于正常范围内。我们的发现表明，基于SAW的振动细胞刺激具有克服常规超声治疗替代方法的潜力，克服了其一些局限性。我们还确定了细胞增殖率和细胞应激水平。尽管在较宽的功率范围内增殖率显着提高，但细胞应激仍然很低，处于正常范围内。我们的发现表明，基于SAW的振动细胞刺激具有克服常规超声治疗替代方法的潜力，克服了其一些局限性。