Conductive Hydrogel Patches with High Elasticity and Fatigue Resistance for Cardiac Microenvironment Remodeling

Abstract

Remodeling the conductive zone to assist normal myocardial contraction and relaxation during myocardial fibrosis has become the primary concern of myocardial infarction (MI) regeneration. Herein, we report an unbreakable and self-recoverable hyaluronic acid conductive cardiac patch for MI treatment, which can maintain structural integrity under mechanical load and integrate mechanical and electrical conduction and biological cues to restore cardiac electrical conduction and diastolic contraction function. Using the free carboxyl groups and aldehyde groups in the hydrogel system, excellent adhesion properties are achieved in the interface between the myocardial patch and the tissue, which can be closely integrated with the rabbit myocardial tissue, reducing the need for suture. Interestingly, the hydrogel patch exhibits sensitive conductivity (ΔR/R 0 ≈ 2.5) for 100 cycles and mechanical stability for 500 continuous loading cycles without collapse, which allows the patch to withstand mechanical damage caused by sustained contraction and relaxation of the myocardial tissue. Moreover, considering the oxidative stress state caused by excessive ROS in the MI area, we incorporated Rg1 into the hydrogel to improve the abnormal myocardial microenvironment, which achieved more than 80% free radicalscavenging efficiency in the local infarcted region and promoted myocardial reconstruction. Overall, these Rg1-loaded conductive hydrogels with highly elastic fatigue resistance have great potential in restoring the abnormal electrical conduction pathway and promoting the myocardial microenvironment, thereby repairing the heart and improving the cardiac function.

A self-activating electron transfer antibacterial strategy: Co3O4/TiO2 P–N heterojunctions combined with photothermal therapy

“…Meanwhile, it is generally accepted that the radius of the arc in the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) impedance is proportional to the resistance of the material as a smaller arc radius indicates less resistance to electron transfer within the material, leading to a higher electron mobility. 51 The Co 3 O 4 /TiO 2 –Ti group exhibited lower electrochemical impedance, which indicated its stronger electron transport capacity (Fig. 7b).…”

A novel PVA/MWCNTs hydrogel with high toughness and electromagnetic shielding properties

“…The hydrogel of 20 mm long, 5 mm wide, and 2 mm thick is used for conductance measurements. The volume resistivity ( ρ ) and electrical conductivity ( σ ) of low conductivity samples (<10 −6 s/m) were determined by voltammetry and calculated by formula (5) 41 : …”

Comparative Analysis of Heart Regeneration: Searching for the Key to Heal the Heart—Part II: Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiac Regeneration

“…Currently, most of the efforts have been placed on applying distinct types of mechanical stress to different cell types, alone or in combination with distinct biocompatible scaffolds [ 247 , 248 , 249 ], with the aim of generating cardiac patches that might serve as therapeutic tools to heal the injured heart. Efforts have been made modeling distinct CMs derived from different sources, such as mesenchymal stem cells [ 250 , 251 , 252 ], cardiomyocyte progenitor cells [ 253 , 254 , 255 , 256 ], a mixture of cardiac cells, embryonic [ 257 ] and adult [ 258 ] CMs, induced pluripotent stem cells-derived CMs [ 259 ] and embryonic stem cell-derived CMs [ 260 , 261 ]. Additionally, several other studies also analyzed the functional role of mechanical load in distinct cardiovascular cells such as ECs [ 262 ] and vascular smooth muscle cells [ 263 ], as well as in a mixture of different cardiovascular cells [ 264 , 265 , 266 , 267 ] or ECs together with CMs [ 268 , 269 ], respectively.…”