Scaffolds For Cardiac Tissue Engineering Research Articles

IGF-1 loaded injectable microspheres for potential repair of the infarcted myocardium.

The use of injectable scaffolds to repair the infarcted heart is receiving great interest. Thermosensitive polymers, in situ polymerization, in situ cross-linking, and self-assembling peptides are the most investigated approaches to obtain injectability.Aim of the present work was the preparation and characterization of a novel bioactive scaffold, in form of injectable microspheres, for cardiac repair. Gellan/gelatin microspheres were prepared by a water-in-oil emulsion and loaded by adsorption with Insulin-like growth factor 1 to promote tissue regeneration. Obtained microspheres underwent morphological, physicochemical and biological characterization, including cell culture tests in static and dynamic conditions and in vivo tests. Morphological analysis of the microspheres showed a spherical shape, a microporous surface and an average diameter of 66 ± 17µm (under dry conditions) and 123 ± 24 µm (under wet conditions). Chemical Imaging analysis pointed out a homogeneous distribution of gellan, gelatin and Insulin-like growth factor-1 within the microsphere matrix. In vitro cell culture tests showed that the microspheres promoted rat cardiac progenitor cells adhesion, and cluster formation. After dynamic suspension culture within an impeller-free bioreactor, cells still adhered to microspheres, spreading their cytoplasm over microsphere surface. Intramyocardial administration of microspheres in a cryoinjury rat model attenuated chamber dilatation, myocardial damage and fibrosis and improved cell homing.Overall, the findings of this study confirm that the produced microspheres display morphological, physicochemical, functional and biological properties potentially adequate for future applications as injectable scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering.

An anti-oxidative and conductive composite scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering

Promising three-dimensional porous scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering should both function as conductive substrates to adapt to the electroactive nature of the myocardium and modulate the excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) microenvironment after myocardial infarction. In this study, glutathione (GSH) is grafted to the terminal carboxyl groups of carboxyl-capped aniline pentamer (CCAP), forming AP-GSH that is then introduced into gelatin (Gel) scaffold to create a composite scaffold combining both conductivity and antioxidant activity. Results suggest that the Gel/AP-GSH composite scaffolds exhibit high porosity, homogeneous pore structure and high swelling behaviors. The conductivity of the Gel/AP-GSH scaffold ranges from 3.4 × 10−5 S/cm to 1 × 10−4 S/cm, which is similar to the native myocardium. The introduction of AP-GSH can remove intracellular ROS and decrease the oxidative stress damage in brown adipose-derived stem cells (BADSCs), further improving the adhesion and proliferation of BADSCs under the ROS microenvironment. Moreover, BADSCs seeded in the Gel/AP-GSH composite scaffold maintain high cardiomyogenic differentiation even under the ROS microenvironment. These results demonstrate that Gel/AP-GSH composite scaffolds can be used as a promising candidate for cardiac tissue engineering.

Bioresorbable Polymeric Scaffold in Cardiovascular Applications.

Advances in material science and innovative medical technologies have allowed the development of less invasive interventional procedures for deploying implant devices, including scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering. Biodegradable materials (e.g., resorbable polymers) are employed in devices that are only needed for a transient period. In the case of coronary stents, the device is only required for 6–8 months before positive remodelling takes place. Hence, biodegradable polymeric stents have been considered to promote this positive remodelling and eliminate the issue of permanent caging of the vessel. In tissue engineering, the role of the scaffold is to support favourable cell-scaffold interaction to stimulate formation of functional tissue. The ideal outcome is for the cells to produce their own extracellular matrix over time and eventually replace the implanted scaffold or tissue engineered construct. Synthetic biodegradable polymers are the favoured candidates as scaffolds, because their degradation rates can be manipulated over a broad time scale, and they may be functionalised easily. This review presents an overview of coronary heart disease, the limitations of current interventions and how biomaterials can be used to potentially circumvent these shortcomings in bioresorbable stents, vascular grafts and cardiac patches. The material specifications, type of polymers used, current progress and future challenges for each application will be discussed in this manuscript.

Young at Heart: Combining Strategies to Rejuvenate Endogenous Mechanisms of Cardiac Repair.

True cardiac regeneration of the injured heart has been broadly described in lower vertebrates by active replacement of lost cardiomyocytes to functionally and structurally restore the myocardial tissue. On the contrary, following severe injury (i.e., myocardial infarction) the adult mammalian heart is endowed with an impaired reparative response by means of meager wound healing program and detrimental remodeling, which can lead over time to cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Lately, a growing body of basic, translational and clinical studies have supported the therapeutic use of stem cells to provide myocardial regeneration, with the working hypothesis that stem cells delivered to the cardiac tissue could result into new cardiovascular cells to replenish the lost ones. Nevertheless, multiple independent evidences have demonstrated that injected stem cells are more likely to modulate the cardiac tissue via beneficial paracrine effects, which can enhance cardiac repair and reinstate the embryonic program and cell cycle activity of endogenous cardiac stromal cells and resident cardiomyocytes. Therefore, increasing interest has been addressed to the therapeutic profiling of the stem cell-derived secretome (namely the total of cell-secreted soluble factors), with specific attention to cell-released extracellular vesicles, including exosomes, carrying cardioprotective and regenerative RNA molecules. In addition, the use of cardiac decellularized extracellular matrix has been recently suggested as promising biomaterial to develop novel therapeutic strategies for myocardial repair, as either source of molecular cues for regeneration, biological scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering or biomaterial platform for the functional release of factors. In this review, we will specifically address the translational relevance of these two approaches with ad hoc interest in their feasibility to rejuvenate endogenous mechanisms of cardiac repair up to functional regeneration.

Decellularized Human Dermal Matrix as a Biological Scaffold for Cardiac Repair and Regeneration.

The complex and highly organized environment in which cells reside consists primarily of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that delivers biological signals and physical stimuli to resident cells. In the native myocardium, the ECM contributes to both heart compliance and cardiomyocyte maturation and function. Thus, myocardium regeneration cannot be accomplished if cardiac ECM is not restored. We hypothesize that decellularized human skin might make an easily accessible and viable alternate biological scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering (CTE). To test our hypothesis, we decellularized specimens of both human skin and human myocardium and analyzed and compared their composition by histological methods and quantitative assays. Decellularized dermal matrix was then cut into 600-μm-thick sections and either tested by uniaxial tensile stretching to characterize its mechanical behavior or used as three-dimensional scaffold to assess its capability to support regeneration by resident cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) in vitro. Histological and quantitative analyses of the dermal matrix provided evidence of both effective decellularization with preserved tissue architecture and retention of ECM proteins and growth factors typical of cardiac matrix. Further, the elastic modulus of the dermal matrix resulted comparable with that reported in literature for the human myocardium and, when tested in vitro, dermal matrix resulted a comfortable and protective substrate promoting and supporting hCPC engraftment, survival and cardiomyogenic potential. Our study provides compelling evidence that dermal matrix holds promise as a fully autologous and cost-effective biological scaffold for CTE.

Design of Functional Electrospun Scaffolds Based on Poly(glycerol sebacate) Elastomer and Poly(lactic acid) for Cardiac Tissue Engineering.

Many works focus on the use of polyesters such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to produce nanofibrous scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering. However, such scaffolds are hydrophobic and difficult to functionalize. Here, we show that adding 30% of poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) elastomer within PLA leads to PLA:PGS scaffolds with improved biological properties, depending on the processing parameters. Two categories of fibers were produced by blend electrospinning, with diameters of 600 and 1300 nm. The resulting fibers were cured at 90 or 120 °C to achieve two different cross-linking densities. The designed scaffolds were considered for cytocompatibility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and chemical and mechanical properties. Our results demonstrated that the presence of PGS increases the hydrophilicity of the material and thus improves surface functionalization by Matrigel or laminin coating, commonly used cell culture matrices. PLA:PGS scaffolds associated with Matrigel or laminin allow an increased material-cell interaction. Moreover, the cardiomyocytes seeded on such scaffolds acquire a morphology similar to that observed in native tissue, the result being more remarkable on fibers having the smallest diameter and the highest PGS cross-linking density. In addition, these scaffolds induce neovascularization without an inflammatory response and foreign body giant cell response after grafting on a mouse heart. Hence, the improved biocompatibility and the ability to support cardiomyocyte development suggest that thin PLA:PGS scaffolds could be promising biomaterials for cardiac application.

Electrospun Fibrous PVDF‐TrFe Scaffolds for Cardiac Tissue Engineering, Differentiation, and Maturation

AbstractCardiac tissue engineering aims to create cardiac tissue constructs that recapitulate the structure and function of the native heart. This approach has been widely used for creating myocardial implants for regenerative medicine, and more recently, for developing in vitro cardiotoxicity screening assays. However, once the engineered myocardial tissues are implanted or subjected to pharmacological stimuli, their performance should be monitored. Currently, there is no biomaterial that promotes functional tissues assembly while providing real‐time information about their function, in situ. In this study, the piezoelectric phenomenon is sought to be exploited, to measure the contractions generated by engineered cardiac tissues. A poly‐(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)‐based electrospun fiber scaffold is developed, and it is hypothesized that the contractions of cardiomyocytes in the scaffold will induce mechanical deformations, which will result in measurable electric voltage. The PVDF scaffolds are characterized and optimized for supporting formation of aligned, functional, cardiac tissues. The scaffolds' function is then validated as sensors for tissue contraction and it is demonstrated that they can sense contractions of tissues constructed from as few as 5 × 105 cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that human induced pluripotent stem cells can be directly seeded and differentiated to cardiomyocytes, and then mature over the course of 40 days on the PVDF fiber scaffolds.

Photoluminescent functionalized carbon quantum dots loaded electroactive Silk fibroin/PLA nanofibrous bioactive scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering

Tissue engineering and stem cell rehabilitation are the hopeful aspects that are being investigated for the management of Myocardial Infarction (MI); cardiac patches have been used to start myocardial rejuvenation. In this study, we engineered p-phenylenediamine surface functionalized (modif-CQD) into the Silk fibroin/PLA (SF/PLA) nanofibrous bioactive scaffolds with improved physico-chemical abilities, mechanical and cytocompatibility to cardiomyocytes. The micrograph results visualized the morphological improved spherical modif-CQD have been equivalently spread throughout the SF/PLA bioactive cardiac scaffolds. The fabricated CQD@SF/PLA nanofibrous bioactive scaffolds were highly porous with fully consistent pores; effectively improved young modulus and swelling asset for the suitability and effective implantation efficacy. The scaffolds were prepared with rat cardiomyocytes and cultured for up to 7 days, without electrical incentive. After 7 days of culture, the scaffold pores all over the construct volume were overflowing with cardiomyocytes. The metabolic activity and viability of the cardiomyocytes in CQD@SF/PLA scaffolds were significantly higher than cardiomyocytes in Silk fibroin /PLA scaffolds. The integration of CQD also influenced greatly and increases the expression of cardiac-marker genes. The results of the present investigations evidently recommended that well-organized cardiac nanofibrous scaffold with greater cardiac related mechanical abilities and biocompatibilities for cardiac tissue engineering and nursing care applications.

Cardiac cell differentiation of muscle satellite cells on aligned composite electrospun polyurethane with reduced graphene oxide

The damaged heart muscle loses its ability to contract and due to the replacement of heart-damaged muscles with a fibrous scar, structural and functional changes occur in the heart muscle. This scar cannot contract regularly and is not an excellent navigator for electrical signals. By developing the proper conditions for the combination of cells and three-dimensional scaffolds, heart tissue engineering allows for a mechanical protective structure for heart cells, as well as the presence of heart cells to repair damaged tissue. This three-dimensional structure is grafted to the infarcted area and improves cardiac efficiency. In this study, random and aligned polyurethane / reduced graphene oxide composite nanofibrous scaffolds were electrospun as scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering. The properties of scaffolds were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water contact angle, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and tensile measurements. Then, the isolated satellite cells from mouse were cultured on scaffolds and the effect of these properties on the growth, morphology, proliferation, differentiation, and expression of cell genes was investigated using Real-Time PCR method. The results showed that the presence of nanoparticles improved the mechanical properties of the scaffolds and the orientation of the fibers, which made it possible to better resemble the structural and mechanical properties of the cardiac tissues by presenting anisotropic wetting characteristics. Overall, the improvement of these properties and their close proximity to the properties of standard extracellular matrix (ECM) of heart improved the growth and differentiation of mouse satellite cells into cardiac prognostic cells.

Nanofibrous Composites Reinforced by MoS2 Nanosheets as a Conductive Scaffold for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

AbstractMimicking the structure of extracellular matrix and electrical conductivity of myocardium are required to regenerate the functional cardiac tissue. In this study, Molybdenum disulfide, MoS2, nanosheets were synthesized and incorporated into nylon6 electrospun nanofibers in order to enhance the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the scaffolds. Then, the mouse embryonic cardiac cells, mECCs, were seeded on the scaffolds for in vitro studies. The MoS2 nanosheets were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Nylon/MoS2 nanofibers were characterized by SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), water contact angle measurement, electrical conductivity, and tensile test. Furthermore, cytocompatibility of scaffolds was confirmed by 3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide, MTT, assay. SEM images showed more elongated morphology for mECCs attached to the nylon/MoS2 scaffold. Also, the Real‐Time PCR and immunostaining studies indicated the maturation and upregulation of cardiac functional genes including GATA‐4, c‐TnT, Nkx 2.5 and α‐MHC in the nylon/MoS2 scaffold in comparison to the bare nylon. Therefore, MoS2 reinforced nylon nanofibrous scaffolds can be considered as a suitable candidate in cardiac tissue engineering.

Fabrication of graphene‐silver/polyurethane nanofibrous scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering

The graphene‐based nanocomposites are considered as great candidates for enhancing electrical and mechanical properties of nonconductive scaffolds in cardiac tissue engineering. In this study, reduced graphene oxide‐silver (rGO‐Ag) nanocomposites (1 and 2 wt%) were synthesized and incorporated into polyurethane (PU) nanofibers via electrospinning technique. Next, the human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) were seed on these scaffolds for in vitro studies. The rGO‐Ag nanocomposites were studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscope (TEM). After incorporation of rGO‐Ag into PU nanofibers, the related characterizations were carried out including scanning electron microscope (SEM), TEM, water contact angle, and mechanical properties. Furthermore, PU and PU/nanocomposites scaffolds were used for in vitro studies, wherein hCPCs showed good cytocompatibility via 3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and considerable attachment on the scaffold using SEM studies. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunostaining studies confirmed the upregulation of cardiac specific genes including GATA‐4, T‐box 18 (TBX 18), cardiac troponin T (cTnT), and alpha‐myosin heavy chain (α‐MHC) in the PU/rGO‐Ag scaffolds in comparison with neat PU ones. Therefore, these nanofibrous rGO‐Ag–reinforced PU scaffolds can be considered as suitable candidates in cardiac tissue engineering.

Poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(glycerol sebacate) electrospun scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering using benign solvents.

Electrospun fibers based on combinations of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) have been studied for applications in cardiac tissue engineering. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the fabrication of PCL and PGS prepolymer or mildly crosslinked PGS by electrospinning using less toxic solvents, like acetic acid, as opposed to conventional solvents such as chloroform or dichloromethane. The morphological and physiochemical properties and degradation susceptibility of the fiber mats were determined. A cell study using ST2 cells was performed to assess cytocompatibility. Neat PCL and PCL/PGS blends showed defect-free microstructures, whereby the average fiber diameter increased with the addition of PGS (0.8 ± 0.3 μm and 1.3 ± 0.7 μm, respectively). The mechanical properties were tested at 23 °C and 37 °C and showed higher values compared to native human myocardium. Degradation studies revealed a fast PGS degradation but the mildly cross-linked PGS resulted in acidification of the degradation medium. The biocompatibility was significantly increased when the samples were disinfected in 70% v/v ethanol in comparison to ultra-violet light disinfection. PCL/PGS fibers fabricated with acetic acid proved to be potentially suitable for application in cardiac tissue engineering based on their mechanical properties and biodegradability.

Three-dimensional graphene foam as a conductive scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering

Myocardial infarction is one of the major causes of mortality throughout the world. Cardiac scaffolds are tissue-engineered structures for the treatment of myocardial infarction and are employed for tissue support and cell delivery to the injured region. In this study, we fabricated nanostructured graphene foams as porous and biocompatible cardiac tissue-engineering scaffolds. Three-dimensional graphene foam and two-dimensional graphene were fabricated using chemical vapor deposition. We showed that the nickel etching had no effect on the structural appearance of the three-dimensional graphene foam. Toxicity of the prepared samples was evaluated on human umbilical vein endothelial cells at 48 h and 72 h and showed no toxic effects on the viability of the cells. Moreover, both samples supported the adhesion and growth of neonatal cardiomyocytes with three-dimensional graphene foam showing a more extensive effect on the expression of the cardiac genes involved in muscle contraction and relaxation (troponin-T) and gap junctions (Connexin 43). Hence, conductive three-dimensional graphene foam with its large surface area and specific surface properties could provide a promising platform for cardiac tissue engineering.

Electrically conductive nanomaterials for cardiac tissue engineering.

Patient deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases are increasing across the globe, posing the greatest risk to patients in developed countries. Myocardial infarction, as a result of inadequate blood flow to the myocardium, results in irreversible loss of cardiomyocytes which can lead to heart failure. A sequela of myocardial infarction is scar formation that can alter the normal myocardial architecture and result in arrhythmias. Over the past decade, a myriad of tissue engineering approaches has been developed to fabricate engineered scaffolds for repairing cardiac tissue. This paper highlights the recent application of electrically conductive nanomaterials (carbon and gold-based nanomaterials, and electroactive polymers) to the development of scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering. Moreover, this work summarizes the effects of these nanomaterials on cardiac cell behavior such as proliferation and migration, as well as cardiomyogenic differentiation in stem cells.

Preparation of an Electrically Conductive Graphene Oxide/Chitosan Scaffold for Cardiac Tissue Engineering.

Cardiac tissue engineering is of great importance for therapeutic and pharmaceutical applications. The scaffolds that can provide electrical conductivity and structural organization will be highly beneficial for cardiac tissue engineering. Here, we developed conductive scaffolds with electrical conductivity and porous structure composed of chitosan (CS) blending with graphene oxide (GO) for cardiac tissue engineering. Our results showed that the swelling, porosity, and conductive properties of GO/CS scaffolds could be modulated via adjusting the ratio of GO to CS. More importantly, GO/CS scaffolds had a swelling ratio ranging from 23.20 to 27.38 (1000%) and their conductivity (0.134S/m) fell in the range of reported conductivities for native cardiac tissue. Furthermore, we assessed their biological activity by seeding heart H9C2 cells in GO/CS scaffolds. Our data showed that these GO/CS scaffolds exhibited good cell viability, promotion of cell attachment and intercellular network formation, and upregulation of the cardiac-specific gene and protein expression involved in muscle conduction of electrical signals (Connexin-43). Overall, it is concluded that the GO/CS scaffolds promote the properties of cardiac tissue constructs. Our findings provide a new strategy and insight in developing new scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering.

Development of 3D PVA scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering and cell screening applications.

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.

Electrohydrodynamic 3D printing of layer-specifically oriented, multiscale conductive scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering.

Mimicking the hierarchical microarchitecture of native myocardium in vitro plays an important role in cardiac tissue engineering. Here we present a novel strategy to produce multiscale conductive scaffolds with layer-specific fiber orientations for cardiac regeneration by combining solution-based and melt-based electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing techniques. Polycaprolactone (PCL) microfibers were printed by melt-based EHD printing and the fiber orientation was flexibly controlled in a layer-by-layer manner according to user-specific design. The as-printed microfibrous scaffolds can provide the seeded cells necessary contact cues to guide layer-specific cellular alignments. Sub-microscale conductive fibers were simultaneously incorporated inside the well-organized PCL scaffolds by solution-based EHD printing, which significantly improved the conductivity as well as the cellular adhesion and proliferation capacity. The multiscale conductive scaffolds can further direct the multiple-layer alignments of primary cardiomyocytes and facilitate cardiomyocyte-specific gene expressions, which exhibited enhanced synchronous beating behavior compared with pure microfibrous scaffolds. It is envisioned that the proposed hybrid EHD printing technique might provide a promising strategy to fabricate multifunctional micro/nanofibrous scaffolds with biomimetic architectures, electrical conductivity and even biosensing properties for the regeneration of electroactive tissues.

Electroactive graphene composite scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering.

Contractile behavior of cardiomyocytes relies on directed signal propagation through the electroconductive networks that exist within the native myocardium. Due to their unique electrical properties, electroactive materials, such as graphene, have recently emerged as promising candidate materials for cardiac tissue engineering applications. In this work, the potential of three-dimensional (3D) nanofibrous graphene and poly(caprolactone) (PCL + G) composite scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering has been explored for the first time. The addition of graphene into PCL led to an increased volume conductivity of scaffolds with an even distribution of graphene particles throughout the matrix. Graphene particles provided local conductive sites within the PCL matrix, which enabled application of external electrical stimulation throughout the scaffold using a custom point stimulation device. When mouse embryonic stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (mES-CM) were seeded on PCL + G scaffolds, cells adhered well, contracted spontaneously, and exhibited classical cardiomyocyte phenotype confirming the biocompatibility of electroactive PCL + G scaffolds. Further functional characterization demonstrated that graphene especially affected Ca2+ handling properties of mES-CM compared to that of cardiomyocytes cultured in 2D culture, highlighting the potential of PCL + G for in vitro cardiac tissue engineering. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A: 106A: 2923-2933, 2018.

Multifunctional degradable electronic scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering

The capability to on-line sense tissue function, provide stimulation to control contractility and efficiently release drugs within an engineered tissue microenvironment may enhance tissue assembly and improve the therapeutic outcome of implanted engineered tissues. To endow cardiac patches with such capabilities we developed elastic, biodegradable, electronic scaffolds. The scaffolds were composed of electrospun albumin fibers that served as both a substrate and a passivation layer for evaporated gold electrodes. Cardiomyocytes seeded onto the electronic scaffolds organized into a functional cardiac tissue and their function was recorded on-line. Furthermore, the electronic scaffolds enabled to actuate the engineered tissue to control its function and trigger the release of drugs. Post implantation, these electronic scaffolds degraded, leading to the dissociation of the inorganic material from within the scaffold. Such technology can be built upon to create a variety of degradable devices for tissue engineering of various tissues, as well as pristine cell-free devices with electronic components for short-term in vivo use.

3D printing for cardiovascular tissue engineering: a review

Although the current medical treatments have been successful in reducing the coronary heart disease related mortality rate, however there still exist various challenges in cardiac tissue engineering due to the hierarchical property of native myocardium and branched structure of blood vessels. The regeneration of progenitor cells, replacement infarcted cardiac tissues and the tissue-engineered constructs are the demand of the current era. In this contrast, 3D printing of scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering plays a crucial role. 3D printing techniques are used to generate patient-specific foundation that mimics the milieu of biological tissue. Various studies are under investigation to regenerate the cardiac tissues. Lack of regeneration capacity is a major hunt in cardiac tissue engineering. This review will provide an overview of 3D bioprinting techniques for cardiovascular tissue engineering. First, it summarises the background about bioprinting (working principles) followed by various bioink materials for cardiac tissue engineering. Recent approaches for the 3D printing of cardiac scaffolds for the regeneration of cardiac tissues are discussed.