AsianScientist (May 19, 2011) – During a heart attack, part of the heart tissue dies, and nerve cells that keep the heart beating in perfect synchronicity die as well. Surgeons can’t repair the affected area and write it off as “dead.”
A group of researchers at Brown University and the India Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) may have an answer to that using tissue engineering and nanotechnology.
In the lab, they built a scaffold consisting of carbon nanofibers with diameters between 60 and 200 nanometers, and a government-approved polymer, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA). The carbon nanofibers work well because they are excellent conductors of electrons, performing the kind of electrical connections the heart relies upon for keeping a steady beat.
They then stitched the nanofibers together using the polymer to form a mesh about 22 millimeters long and 15 micrometer thick, resembling “a black Band Aid”.
In tests with the “Band Aid” seeded with cardiomyocytes, five times as many heart tissue cells colonized the nanofiber surface after four hours than with a control sample consisting of the polymer only. After five days, the density of the surface was six times greater than the control sample, with neuron density doubling after four days.
The scaffold works because it is elastic and durable, and can thus expand and contract much like heart tissue, said corresponding author Prof. Thomas Webster. It’s because of these properties and the carbon nanofibers that cardiomyocytes and neurons congregate on the scaffold and spawn new cells, in effect regenerating the area.
Moving forward, the scientists hope to tweak the scaffold pattern to better mimic the electrical current of the heart, as well as build an in vitro model to test how the material reacts to the heart’s voltage and beat regime. They also want to ensure the cardiomyocytes that grow on the scaffolds are endowed with the same abilities as other heart tissue cells.
The article can be found at: Stout D et al. (2011) Poly(lactic–co-glycolic acid): Carbon nanofiber composites for myocardial tissue engineering applications.
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Source: Brown University.
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