Abstract:
Since adult cardiomyocytes are not readily available for clinical use, numerous efforts have been made to derive functional cardiomyocytes from pluripotent stem cells. [1,2]. A variety of cardiovascular tissue engineering strategies have been explored to develop engineered cardiac tissues for in vitro and in vivo applications utilizing fibrous tissue scaffolds, both single polymer scaffolds and hybrids of polymers with hydrogels, coatings or embedded materials[3-9]. While graphene, a single layer carbon crystal, has recently become a material of interest for tissue engineering applications including osteogenic, neural and stem cell differentiation [10-12], its potential for cardiac tissue engineering is yet unknown. The inherent electro-activity of the myocardium makes graphene an especially attractive option for cardiac tissue engineering due to its high electrical conductivity. Thus, a novel hybrid 3D scaffold with graphene has been developed and its effect on the function of stem cell derived cardiomyocytes is examined.
