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Clinical translation of nanoparticles for neural stimulation

Nanoparticles enable wireless neural stimulation without the need for genetic manipulation. However, challenges remain for their potential application in the cure of human neurodegenerative diseases. A careful analysis of the different nanomaterials and energy sources that proved effective in animal models will direct their clinical translatability.

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Fig. 1: Strategies for neurostimulation.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by Fondazione Cariplo (project 2018-0505 ‘Nanosparks’), H2020-MSCA-ITN 2019 ‘Entrain Vision’ (project 861423) and EuroNanoMed3 (project 2019-132 ‘NanoLight’). The support of Fondazione 13 Marzo (Parma, Italy) is also acknowledged.

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Both authors contributed equally to the preparation of the manuscript

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Correspondence to Fabio Benfenati.

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Benfenati, F., Lanzani, G. Clinical translation of nanoparticles for neural stimulation. Nat Rev Mater 6, 1–4 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-00267-8

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