Biomaterial applications in cardiovascular tissue repair and regeneration

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease physically damages the heart, resulting in loss of cardiac function. Medications can help alleviate symptoms, but it is more beneficial to treat the root cause by repairing injured tissues, which gives patients better outcomes. Besides heart transplants, cardiac surgeons use a variety of methods for repairing different areas of the heart such as the ventricular septal wall and valves. A multitude of biomaterials are used in the repair and replacement of impaired heart tissues. These biomaterials fall into two main categories: synthetic and natural. Synthetic materials used in cardiovascular applications include polymers and metals. Natural materials are derived from biological sources such as human donor or harvested animal tissues. A new class of composite materials has emerged to take advantage of the benefits of the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of both synthetic and natural materials. This article reviews the current and prospective applications of biomaterials in cardiovascular therapies.

Improvement of Titanium Corrosion Resistance by Coating with Poly-Caprolactone and Poly-Caprolactone/Titanium Dioxide: Potential Application in Heart Valves

“…For heart valves application, corrosion stability at physiological condition plays an important role on the implant durability. Therefore, the use of PCL and PCL+TiO 2 may protect the implant against body fluids attack and improve its biocompatibility 27 . Nevertheless, biological tests of coating materials are necessary to subsidize biocompatibility aspects 28 .…”

Three-Dimensional and Biomimetic Technology in Cardiac Injury After Myocardial Infarction: Effect of Acellular Devices on Ventricular Function and Cardiac Remodelling

“…Somewhat ambiguous, the biomaterial needs biocompatible and must interact organically and synergistically with the healthy part of the organ in order to reconstruct a new and neo-vascularized tissue over the area damaged by ischemia [54][55][56][57].…”

“…Main ECM materials such as collagens, hyaluronan, ibronectin, elastin, ibrillin and proteoglycans among others are natural biomaterials for damaged tissue to repair in and around the area. In cardiovascular applications, bovine porcine and equine tissue sources are playing a prominent role in establishing and maintaining an ideal microenvironment for tissue regeneration [54,60].…”

Heart regeneration after myocardial infarction using synthetic biomaterials

“…Biomaterials are used for general cardiac reconstruction, vascular grafts, pediatric shunts, etc. Synthetic materials, metals, combinations of both and decellularized materials have been used for many years with significant success [31].…”