TENG-Driven Electrotherapy: A Self-Powered Approach to Inducing Cancer Cell Apoptosis

Abstract

Most of the cancer-related deaths are caused by metastasis, which also remains a significant obstacle to successful clinical management. Even though several anti-metastatic treatments have been put forth, systemic toxicity, low cellular responsiveness, and drug resistance typically undermine their therapeutic efficacy. Although triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have become highly effective self-powered electrical therapies for biomedical applications, their potential as an active treatment tool for metastasis suppression has not yet been fully investigated. Here, we present a self-powered TENG-driven electrotherapeutic approach that suppresses early lung cancer cell migration in vitro by carefully regulated electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation at 60 V and 760 nA for 5 min disrupted redox homeostasis and induced caspase-3-mediated apoptotic death of A549 cells. TENG-based electrical therapy serves as a self-powered electrical stimulation source that triggers apoptosis in cancer cells by activating the caspase-3/PARP pathway. These results raise possibilities for TENGs not merely as energy-harvesting devices but as active, mechanistic electrotherapeutic platforms, converting mechanical energy into controlled electrical signals that initiate apoptotic cell death pathways in cancer cells.