Electroconductive Melt-Electrowritten Biomaterial Scaffolds Replicating the Mechanical Anisotropy of Human Heart Tissue

Cardiac patches and biomaterials represent a promising strategy for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). In this lesson, I will discuss a number of materials science and manufacturing processes through which we have successfully generated platforms for tissue engineering and matching the electromechanical properties of the native myocardium. By melt electrospinning writing (MEW), it is possible to fabricate an auxetic patch that can overcome the limited range of elasticity seen in conventional square patch designs. The anisotropic ratio of effective stiffness (E₁/E₂) of the auxetic patches agrees with the directionally‐dependent mechanics of the heart. Furthermore, in situ polymerization of doped‐polypyrrole (PPy) on the auxetic patches confers electroconductive properties close to those reported of human myocardium, with excellent biocompatibility. I also report our recent success in using anisotropic porous sponges in culturing cardiac tissue in vitro.