Nanoscaffolds for Guided Cardiac Repair: The New Therapeutic Challenge of Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of death and disability in the world. At the end-stage of heart failure, heart transplantation remains the ultimate option. Therefore, due to the numerous drawbacks associated with this procedure, new alternative strategies to repair the wounded heart are required. Cell therapy is a potential option to regenerate functional myocardial tissue. The characteristics of the ideal cardiac cell therapy include the use of the proper cell type and delivery methods as well as the choice of a suitable biomaterial acting as a cellular vehicle. Since traditional delivery methods are characterized by several counter backs, among which low cell survival, new engineered micro- and nanostructured materials are today extensively studied to provide a good cardiac therapy. In this review, we report the most recent achievements in the field of cell therapy for myocardial infarction treatment and heart regeneration, focusing on the most commonly used cell sources, the traditional approaches used to deliver cells at the damaged site, and a series of novel technologies based on recent advancements of bioengineering, highlighting the tremendous potential that nanoscaffolds have in this framework.

Biomimetic Polymers for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

“…6,7 Due to these restrictions, innovative alternatives are urgently needed to repair the wounded heart and to permanently restore its function. 8 …”

Polymeric Microporous Nanofilms as Smart Platforms for <italic>in Vitro</italic> Assessment of Nanoparticle Translocation and Caco-2 Cell Culture

“…In some studies, nanofilm flexibility has been claimed as a feature allowing them to be cyclically aspirated and ejected through pipettes or syringes. Indeed, this would enable the collection and subsequent injection of drug-or cell-loaded nanofilms for drug delivery or regenerative medicine purposes [25,26,37]. The application of nanofilms during surgical and medical procedures may be facilitated by using thick supporting layers coupled with the membranes.…”

“…Although cell adhesion on microstructured polymers [41,42] and PLLA nanofilm biocompatibility towards different cell types have been previously reported [25,30,[36][37][38]43], none of the studies use Caco-2 cells. In fact, despite being an immortalized cell line, they are considered difficult to culture reproducibly, particularly on non-standard substrates [44].…”

Recent Advances of Mechanical Engineering Applications in Medicine & Biology

“…An Italian group presented a study with the application of nanoparticles in cell therapy for myocardial infarction treatment and heart regeneration. They focused on the traditional approach to deliver cells at the damaged site [53]. Another group seeks to develop antibodies using conjugated fluorescent dye-doped silica nanoparticles (FDS-NPs) for the rapid detection of Salmonella spp.…”