Cardiac tissue engineering: from matrix design to the engineering of bionic hearts. (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fleischer, Sharon; Feiner, Ron; Dvir, Tal
• Is Part Of: Regenerative medicine. Volume 12:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 275
• Page End: 284
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: biofabrication -- biomaterials -- bionic tissues -- cardiac tissue engineering -- controlled drug release -- electrospinning -- gold nanoparticles; Cellular therapy -- Periodicals; Stem cells -- Transplantation -- Periodicals; Degeneration (Pathology) -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Regeneration (Biology) -- Periodicals; 611.018
• DOI: 10.2217/rme-2016-0150
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1746-0751

Abstract

The field of cardiac tissue engineering aims at replacing the scar tissue created after a patient has suffered from a myocardial infarction. Various technologies have been developed toward fabricating a functional engineered tissue that closely resembles that of the native heart. While the field continues to grow and techniques for better tissue fabrication continue to emerge, several hurdles still remain to be overcome. In this review we will focus on several key advances and recent technologies developed in the field, including biomimicking the natural extracellular matrix structure and enhancing the transfer of the electrical signal. We will also discuss recent developments in the engineering of bionic cardiac tissues which integrate the fields of tissue engineering and electronics to monitor and control tissue performance.