Issue 51, 2017

Injectable and thermoresponsive pericardial matrix derived conductive scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering

Abstract

Scaffolds derived from decellularized cardiac tissue offer an enormous advantage for cardiac applications as they recapitulate biophysical and cardiac specific cues. However, poor electrical conductivity and mechanical properties severely compromise the therapeutic potential of these matrices. Dispersion of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCTs) in these scaffolds could improve their mechanical and electrical properties. However, the inherent hydrophobicity and poor dispersibility of these materials under aqueous conditions limit their outcome. We have developed a modified MWCNT functionalized with carbodihydrazide (CDH) residues that significantly improved their dispersibility and suppressed cytotoxicity in HL-1 cardiomyocytes. We found that the doping of CDH functionalized MWCNT (CDH-MWCNT) as low as 0.5 wt% to the pericardial matrix hydrogel (PMNT) induced the necessary electrical conductivity and significantly improved the mechanical properties of the hydrogel. Cardiomyocytes cultured on a PMNT scaffold triggered proliferation and significantly increased the expression of cardiac-specific gap junction protein, namely connexin 43. Such a phenomenon was not observed when cardiomyocytes were cultured on the pericardial matrix derived gels without MWCNT or on gelatin-fibronectin coated 2D cultures. The PMNT gels displayed excellent biophysical characteristics resulting in the clustering of cardiomyocytes with synchronous contraction, which is crucial for the successful integration to the host tissue.

Graphical abstract: Injectable and thermoresponsive pericardial matrix derived conductive scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Apr 2017
Accepted
12 Jun 2017
First published
22 Jun 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 31980-31988

Injectable and thermoresponsive pericardial matrix derived conductive scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering

K. Roshanbinfar, J. Hilborn, O. P. Varghese and O. P. Oommen, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 31980 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA03780E

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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