Issue 8, 2019

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

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.

Graphical abstract: Development of 3D PVA scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering and cell screening applications

  • This article is part of the themed collection: Biomaterials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 okt 2018
Accepted
05 yan 2019
First published
14 fev 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2019,9, 4246-4257

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

E. Dattola, E. I. Parrotta, S. Scalise, G. Perozziello, T. Limongi, P. Candeloro, M. L. Coluccio, C. Maletta, L. Bruno, M. T. De Angelis, G. Santamaria, V. Mollace, E. Lamanna, E. Di Fabrizio and G. Cuda, RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 4246 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA08187E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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