Electrospun electroconductive constructs of aligned fibers for cardiac tissue engineering

Myocardial infarction remains the leading cause of death in the western world. Since the heart has limited regenerative capabilities, several cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) strategies have been proposed to repair the damaged myocardium. A novel electrospun construct with aligned and electroconductive fibers combining gelatin, poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid and polypyrrole that may serve as a cardiac patch is presented. Constructs were characterized for fiber alignment, surface wettability, shrinkage and swelling behavior, porosity, degradation rate, mechanical properties, and electrical properties. Cell-biomaterial interactions were studied using three different types of cells, Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes (NRVM), human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). All cell types showed good viability and unique organization on construct surfaces depending on their phenotype. Finally, we assessed the maturation status of NRVMs after 14 days by confocal images and qRT-PCR. Overall evidence supports a proof-of-concept that this novel biomaterial construct could be a good candidate patch for CTE applications. A novel tissue engineering scaffold produced by electrospinning results in highly aligned, electroconductive fibers combining gelatin, poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid and polypyrrole. The combination of physical cues (conductivity) and topographical cues (alignment) are shown to be a powerful strategy for obtaining a mature construct. Our aligned electroconductive construct (APPY) allowed NRVMs to reach a higher degree of alignment compared to the non-aligned construct, and its conductivity was 6.79 ± 0.56S/m, a key element to boost the transmission of action potentials among cells. Using this biomaterial as a platform for iPSC differentiation into cardiomyocytes makes it a promising tool for cardiac tissue engineering applications. [Display omitted]