Fabrication and characterization of carbon aerogel/poly(glycerol-sebacate) patches for cardiac tissue engineering.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are responsible for the major number of deaths around the world. Among these is heart failure after myocardial infarction whose latest therapeutic methods are limited to slowing the end-state progression. Numerous strategies have been developed to meet the increased demand for therapies regarding CVDs. This study aimed to establish a novel electrically conductive elastomer-based composite and assess its potential as a cardiac patch for myocardial tissue engineering. The electrically conductive carbon aerogels (CAs) used in this study were derived from waste paper as a cost-effective carbon source and they were combined with the biodegradable poly(glycerol-sebacate) (PGS) elastomer to obtain an electrically conductive cardiac patch material. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the conductive composites obtained by the incorporation of CAs into PGS (CA-PGS). In this context, the incorporation of the CAs into the polymeric matrix significantly improved the elastic modulus (from 0.912 MPa for the pure PGS elastomer to 0.366 MPa for the CA-PGS) and the deformability (from 0.792 MPa for the pure PGS to 0.566 MPa for CA-PGS). Overall, the mechanical properties of the obtained structures were observed similar to the native myocardium. Furthermore, the addition of CAs made the obtained structures electrically conductive with a conductivity value of 65 × 10-3S m-1which falls within the range previously recorded for human myocardium. Thein vitrocytotoxicity assay with L929 murine fibroblast cells revealed that the CA-PGS composite did not have cytotoxic characteristics. On the other hand, the studies conducted with H9C2 rat cardiac myoblasts revealed that final structures were suitable for MTE applications according to the successes in cell adhesion, cell proliferation, and cell behavior.

Synthesis of Conductive Carbon Aerogels Decorated with ß-Tricalcium Phosphate Nanocrystallites.

There has been substantial interest in research aimed at conductive carbon-based supports since the discovery that the electrical stimulus can have dramatic effect on cell behavior. Among these carbon-aerogels decorated with biocompatible polymers were suggested as future materials for tissue engineering. However, high reaction temperatures required for the synthesis of the aerogels tend to impair the stability of the polymeric networks. Herein, we report a synthetic route towards carbon-aerogel scaffolds decorated with biocompatible ceramic nanoparticles of tricalcium phosphate. The composites can be prepared at temperature as high as 1100 °C without significant effect on the morphology of the composite which is comparable with the original aerogel framework. Although the conductivity of the composites tends to decrease with the increasing ceramic content the measured conductivity values are similar to those previously reported on polymer-functionalized carbon-aerogels. The cell culture study revealed that the developed constructs support cell proliferation and provide good cell attachment suggesting them as potentially good candidates for tissue-engineering applications.