Studying the Potential Application of Electrospun Polyethylene Terephthalate/Graphene Oxide Nanofibers as Electroconductive Cardiac Patch

Abstract

AbstractNowadays, engineering‐based cardiac patches aim to accelerate cardiac regeneration in myocardial infarcted tissues. Considering the fundamental role of cardiac electrophysiology in myocardial function, this study aims to investigate graphene oxide (GO) incorporation in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanofibrous scaffold, as a conductive cardiac patch. The PET/GO nanocomposites are prepared using the uniaxial nozzle and coaxial nozzle electrospinning processes and comprehensively evaluated. The morphological observation indicates a uniform beaded free morphology with an average diameter of 147 ± 38 and 253 ± 67 nm for solid and core–shell nanocomposite fibers, respectively. Addition of GO to the PET nanofibers in a concentration of 0.05 wt% remarkably increases the Young modulus of mats from 30 ± 0.03 to 60 ± 0.02 and 69 ± 0.08 MPa for solid and core–shell nanofibers, respectively. Also, the electroconductivity is improved from 0.7 × 10−6 to 1.175 × 10−6 and 1.3 × 10−6 S cm−1 for solid and core–shell nanofibers, which are in the range of cardiac electroactivity values. PET/GO substrate interestingly supports human umbilical vein endothelial cells’ spreading morphology and cardiomyocyte elongated morphology, mainly where the GO nanosheets are distributed near the surface of nanofibers. In conclusion, the core–shell electrospun PET/GO nanocomposite fibers are suggested as a potential electroactive cardiac patch to improve cardiac cell attachment and proliferation.