Chapter 12 - Nano-bioink solutions for cardiac tissue bioprinting

Abstract

The ability to design and develop tissue and organ-specific bioinks with tailored biophysical and chemical properties has the potential to advance 3D bioprinting applications from the basic science realm to a truly clinical suite of bioengineering tools. In the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering, such bioinks could be used to improve cardiac disease treatment outcomes, serve as functional implantable tissues to restore lost function in the heart and/or the vasculature, as well as the next-generation drug screening platforms. Specifically, design and fabrication of nanomaterial-enhanced cardiac bioinks can facilitate the design and fabrication of novel biocompatible materials which are tailored to specific organ and pathologies. Using various nano-biomaterials, specific chemical and mechanical properties of natural and synthetic bioinks can be tailored to generate complex structures which resemble the structural hierarchy and chemical composition of the native heart tissues. Versatile and tunable bioinks that can support advanced construct design through functionalization with nanomaterials and other small molecules will have important implications for next-generation bioprinting and biofabrication of cardiovascular tissues. Here, we cover some of the more promising aspects of nanomaterial-functionalized bioinks, targeted specifically toward cardiovascular applications.