Elastic and Conductive Melanin/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Composite Hydrogel for Enhancing Repair Effect on Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Heart failure caused by acute myocardial infarction (MI) still remains the main cause of death worldwide. Development of conductive hydrogels provided a promising approach for the treatment of myocardial infarction. However, the therapeutic potential of these hydrogels is still limited by material toxicity or low conductivity. The latter directly affects the coupling and the propagation of electrical signals between cells. Here, a functional conductive hydrogel by combining hydrophilic and biocompatible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with conductive melanin nanoparticles under physical crosslinking conditions is prepared. The composite hydrogels prepared by a facile fabrication process of five freeze/thaw cycles possessed satisfying mechanical properties and conductivity close to those of the natural heart. The physical properties and biocompatibility are evaluated in vitro experiments, showing that the introduction of melanin particles successfully improved the elasticity, conductivity, and cell adhesion of PVA hydrogel. In vivo, the composite hydrogels can enhance the cardiac repair effect by reducing MI area, slowing down ventricular wall thinning, and promoting the vascularization of infarct area in MI rat model. It is believed that the melanin/PVA composite hydrogel may be a suitable candidate material for MI repair.

An Electroconductive and Antibacterial Adhesive Nanocomposite Hydrogel for High‐Performance Skin Wound Healing

“…[ 21 ] Since PVA by itself, HAG, and CD are all expected to be poor conductors, the mobility of boron ions in the hydrogel likely explained the relatively high electrical conductivity observed. [ 80 ] After the addition of CD AgNPs to the hydrogel, the electrical conductivity increased 5.5 times to 85.7 ± 4.6 mS m −1 . This demonstrates that the presence of this superior metallic conductor enhanced significantly the electrical properties of PVA 15 /CD/HAG/ CD AgNP.…”

Smart Hydrogels for Tissue Regeneration

“…The MI pathology often involves abnormal electrical signals from the injured heart muscle, resulting from cardiomyocyte necrosis and scar tissue formation. [ 194 ] In this regard, conductive hydrogels capable of coupling with myocardial electrophysiology could efficiently improve cardiac function without causing arrhythmias. Liu et al.…”

“…The MI pathology often involves abnormal electrical signals from the injured heart muscle, resulting from cardiomyocyte necrosis and scar tissue formation. [194] In this regard, conductive hydrogels capable of coupling with myocardial electrophysiology could efficiently improve cardiac function without causing arrhythmias. Liu et al [195] developed a natural alginate hydrogel incorporating Au@Pt nanoparticles to encapsulate brown adipose stem cells for the preparation of injectable stem cell carriers (Figure 10a-i).…”