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High School Poster Expo

High School Poster Expo

D18-a - Magnetic Stimulation of Axons for Neuroprotection

Saturday, October 11, 2025
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
Location: Exhibit Hall F, G & H

Introduction: : Cancer drugs can damage sensory nerves, starting at their farthest ends. This affects 30–60% of cancer patients, causing numbness, tingling, burning pain, and heightened sensitivity, symptoms that greatly reduce one’s quality of life [1]. Current treatments focus on managing symptoms rather than preventing or reversing the underlying nerve damage.
Magnetic stimulation (MSTIM) uses electromagnetic fields to influence nerve cell activity and promote axon regrowth and repair. In healthy neurons, signals travel along axons. Neurons communicate with electrical signals; therefore, magnetic fields can affect their activity. We hypothesized that low-frequency magnetic stimulation would increase axon length in chemotherapy-damaged neurons compared to non-stimulated controls.
In this study, we used a magnetic stimulation device, previously developed at the Neural Engineering Lab at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, to stimulate axons in vitro. The device’s casing was 3D printed, and an electrical current was sent through a coil to generate magnetic pulses. We tested this approach on Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) neurons grown in the lab and treated with Paclitaxel (PTX), a microtubule-targeting chemotherapy drug. The low-frequency magnetic pulses promoted axonal growth. These findings indicate that magnetic stimulation may provide a less invasive option for restoring nerve function in degenerative conditions.

Materials and

Methods: : The magnetic stimulation device (Figure 1) consists of four components: a 15 V power supply, a signal generator, and a 3D-printed housing containing 24 coils. A monophasic pulse wave passes from the signal generator to the magnetic coils, which induce a magnetic field of 11 mT along the 24-well plate. The setup uses an amplification board with an op-amp to amplify the necessary voltage to output the desired magnetic field. The setup includes sets of three coils in series, and up to eight different frequencies can be tested simultaneously. The 3D-printed housing integrates the stimulation unit, electromagnet array, cell plate base, and protective lid.
The experimental workflow is illustrated in Figure 2, where a 24-well plate was used to culture the cells. Wells were coated with Poly-D-Lysine and Laminin for adhesion. After incubating, the chambers were filled with complete media. For each experimental condition (control, 10Hz, and 100Hz), three wells were used. DRG neurons extracted from E-15 rat embryos were cultured in complete media, seeded at a concentration of 5000 neurons per well, and allowed 3-5 days for growth.
The neurons were treated with 5µM of the chemotherapy drug PTX for 1 hour and then stimulated at varying frequencies to analyze their effects. This was repeated for three days. These results were recorded by live-cell fluorescence imaging the wells at 0, 24, and 48 hours post-staining. Using a Leica DMi8 and Fiji-ImageJ, the axonal lengths of the stained wells were measured, while the non-stimulated wells remained as the control variable.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:: Using the magnetic stimulation device, axon lengths within the same culture wells were recorded over 48 hours. We assessed the effect of low-frequency magnetic pulses on axon regrowth by comparing stimulated wells to controls. Average axon lengths were measured for each group over three days to evaluate and compare the efficacy of the different stimulation conditions.

On Day 1, the control group had the longest average axon length ( 210.8429µm), followed by the 100 Hz group (192.46µm) and the 10 Hz group (172.77 µm). By Day 3, however, both magnetically stimulated groups had exceeded the control in average length. The 100 Hz group increased by 215.48% and the 10 Hz group by 252.357%, compared to only a 143.838% increase in the control group. Figure 3 shows representative imaging of the same well over 48 hours alongside a plot of average axon length over time.

These results indicate that the effects of magnetic stimulation on axon growth are not immediate but develop over time. As evidenced by the significant increase in average axonal length between Days 1 and 3, prolonged magnetic stimulation has a greater impact than short-term exposure. Moreover, these observations indicate that low-frequency stimulation can enhance growth rates beyond natural recovery, which is advantageous for regenerating damaged neurons. Although further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms, magnetic stimulation has demonstrated a strong ability to enhance axonal growth, highlighting its potential for supporting neuronal repair and regeneration.

Acknowledgements and/or References (Optional): : Acknowledgements:

I sincerely thank my PhD mentors, Khayzaran Qubbaj and Prashant Adhikari, for introducing me to neural engineering and nerve healing research. I am grateful to them, along with my Masters mentor, Ibraheem Elazzouzi, and undergraduate mentors Ulrik Guerrero-Balbuena and Andrew Yang, for teaching me essential laboratory skills and experimental protocols.

Special thanks to Dr. Yang for his guidance, support, and for providing the opportunity to this research.

References:

1. Zhang S, Semin Oncol, 2021, 48, 193-207
2. Albin, B., Adhikari, P., Tiwari, A. P., Qubbaj, K., & Yang, I. H. (2024). Electrical stimulation enhances mitochondrial trafficking as a neuroprotective mechanism against chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Iscience, 27(3).
3. Albin, B., Qubbaj, K., Tiwari, A. P., Adhikari, P., & Yang, I. H. (2023). Mitochondrial trafficking as a protective mechanism against chemotherapy drug-induced peripheral neuropathy: Identifying the key site of action. Life Sciences, 334, 122219.