Electroactive Polymeric Composites to Mimic the Electromechanical Properties of Myocardium in Cardiac Tissue Repair

Abstract

Due to the limited regenerative capabilities of cardiomyocytes, incidents of myocardial infarction can cause permanent damage to native myocardium through the formation of acellular, non-conductive scar tissue during wound repair. The generation of scar tissue in the myocardium compromises the biomechanical and electrical properties of the heart which can lead to further cardiac problems including heart failure. Currently, patients suffering from cardiac failure due to scarring undergo transplantation but limited donor availability and complications (i.e., rejection or infectious pathogens) exclude many individuals from successful transplant. Polymeric tissue engineering scaffolds provide an alternative approach to restore normal myocardium structure and function after damage by acting as a provisional matrix to support cell attachment, infiltration and stem cell delivery. However, issues associated with mechanical property mismatch and the limited electrical conductivity of these constructs when compared to native myocardium reduces their clinical applicability. Therefore, composite polymeric scaffolds with conductive reinforcement components (i.e., metal, carbon, or conductive polymers) provide tunable mechanical and electroactive properties to mimic the structure and function of natural myocardium in force transmission and electrical stimulation. This review summarizes recent advancements in the design, synthesis, and implementation of electroactive polymeric composites to better match the biomechanical and electrical properties of myocardial tissue.

Fabrication Methods of Electroactive Scaffold-Based Conducting Polymers for Tissue Engineering Application: A Review

“…Hence, the rationale to incorporate metallic nanoparticles for conductivity enhancement are promising, yet there are still some significant impediments to the in-vivo deployment of these materials since the quantity of scientific reports is insufficient to allow them to be commercialized in medical practice ( Khan et al, 2020 ). Therefore, current research is shifting toward developing injectable, adhesive, and in situ-curable conductive scaffolds for electrically active tissues, such as cardiac and neuronal tissues ( Meyers et al, 2021 ).…”

An Electroconductive, Thermosensitive, and Injectable Chitosan/Pluronic/Gold-Decorated Cellulose Nanofiber Hydrogel as an Efficient Carrier for Regeneration of Cardiac Tissue

“…The addition of Au@OBC nanofibers significantly enhances the moduli compared to the CS–CPF hydrogel, revealing the impact of Au@OBC nanofibers on the strength of the conjugated polymer matrix. Meanwhile, the modulus for native myocardium is reported to be about 0.02 to 0.5 MPa [ 64 ] and the ratio of G′ to G″ is in the order of 10, which falls in the range of natural tissues reported in previous studies [ 65 , 66 ].…”

Feedback-controlled topological reconfiguration of molecular assemblies for programming supramolecular structures

“…Thus, conductive hydrogels have attracted attention in the fields of wearables, implantable biosensors and artificial skin. [47][48][49][50][51] With the rapid development of technology, transient electronics and ionotronics are increasingly prevalent because of their advantages, such as adjustable life time and degradable properties. 52,53 The G-quartet-based transient supramolecular hydrogels in this work had good ionic conductivity of 0.01 S cm À1 (Fig.…”