Nanoengineering the Heart: Conductive Scaffolds Enhance Connexin 43 Expression

TLDR

Scaffolds that combine electrical and elastic properties are promising for cardiac cell function, yet existing conductive materials fail to mimic physiological properties. The authors fabricated a tunable hybrid hydrogel scaffold by uniformly embedding gold nanoparticles within a polymer‑templated gel. The conductive gels exhibited myocardium‑like Young’s moduli and promoted higher connexin 43 expression in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes compared to HEMA scaffolds, with or without electrical stimulation.

Abstract

Scaffolds that couple electrical and elastic properties may be valuable for cardiac cell function. However, existing conductive materials do not mimic physiological properties. We prepared and characterized a tunable, hybrid hydrogel scaffold based on Au nanoparticles homogeneously synthesized throughout a polymer templated gel. Conductive gels had Young's moduli more similar to myocardium relative to polyaniline and polypyrrole, by 1-4 orders of magnitude. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes exhibited increased expression of connexin 43 on hybrid scaffolds relative to HEMA with or without electrical stimulation.