Abstract
The aim of this study was the design of a 3D scaffold composed of poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA) for cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) applications. The PVA scaffold was fabricated using a combination of gas foaming and freeze-drying processes that did not need any cross-linking agents. We obtained a biocompatible porous matrix with excellent mechanical properties. We measured the stress–strain curves of the PVA scaffolds and we showed that the elastic behavior is similar to that of the extracellular matrix of muscles. The SEM observations revealed that the scaffolds possess micro pores having diameters ranging from 10 μm to 370 μm that fit to the dimensions of the cells. A further purpose of this study was to test scaffolds ability to support human induced pluripotent stem cells growth and differentiation into cardiomyocytes. As the proliferation tests show, the number of live stem cells on the scaffold after 12 days was increased with respect to the initial number of cells, revealing the cytocompatibility of the substrate. In addition, the differentiated cells on the PVA scaffolds expressed anti-troponin T, a marker specific of the cardiac sarcomere. We demonstrated the ability of the cardiomyocytes to pulse within the scaffolds. In conclusion, the developed scaffold show the potential to be used as a biomaterial for CTE applications.
Highlights
The recent improvements in tissue engineering[1] allowed the creation of a wide range of three-dimensional (3D) bioengineered substitutes, which replicate natural body structures at macro, micro and nanometer resolutions.[2,3]These matrices, called scaffolds, are a 3D temporary supports for cell growth and proliferation, and are used to regenerate damaged biological tissues or organs.[4]
The use of gas foaming technique in combination with a controlled freeze-drying process led to the formation of highly porous poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA) scaffolds with characteristics suitable for cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) applications
We focused on the design of 3D PVA scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering showing how highly porous matrices could be fabricated from PVA with gas foaming in combination of freeze-drying process
Summary
The recent improvements in tissue engineering[1] allowed the creation of a wide range of three-dimensional (3D) bioengineered substitutes, which replicate natural body structures at macro, micro and nanometer resolutions.[2,3]. These matrices, called scaffolds, are a 3D temporary supports for cell growth and proliferation, and are used to regenerate damaged biological tissues or organs.[4] A scaffold is capable of mimicking several native tissues such as lung, nerve, kidney, pancreas, heart and cardiac valves.[5,6,7,8,9] Thanks to its. The ultimate goal of cardiac tissue engineering[11,12,13,14] is to design cardiac gra s for transplantation, which reproduce the same structure, architecture, and physiological functions of native tissues.[15]
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