title: Electricity and colloidal stability: how charge distribution in the tissue can affects wound healing.
abstract: The role of endogenous electric fields in wound healing is still not fully understood. Electric fields are of fundamental importance in various biological processes, ranging from embryonic development to disease progression, as described by many investigators in the last century. This hypothesis brings together some relevant literature on the importance of electric fields in physiology and pathology, the theory of biologically closed electric circuits, skin battery (a phenomenon that occurs after skin injury and seems to be involved in tissue repair), the relationship between electric charge and interstitial exclusion, and how skin tissues can be regarded as colloidal systems. The importance of electric charges, as established in the early works on the subject and the relevance of zeta potential and colloid stability are also analyzed, and together bring a new light for the physics involved in the wound repair of all the body tissues.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: plfarber@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Paulo Luiz
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Farber
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hochman
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabianne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Furtado
authors.affiliation: Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lydia Masako
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000418:Albumins / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004560:Electricity; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000737:chemistry; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D051381:Rats; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000418:Albumins; D003102:Colloids; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D003094:Collagen