Premium
Electrospun Extracellular Matrix: Paving the Way to Tailor‐Made Natural Scaffolds for Cardiac Tissue Regeneration
Author(s) -
Schoen Beth,
Avrahami Ron,
Baruch Limor,
Efraim Yael,
Goldfracht Idit,
Elul Ofek,
Davidov Tzila,
Gepstein Lior,
Zussman Eyal,
Machluf Marcelle
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201700427
Subject(s) - decellularization , extracellular matrix , scaffold , materials science , regeneration (biology) , biocompatibility , tissue engineering , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , electrospinning , regenerative medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , stem cell , biology , polymer , engineering , composite material , metallurgy
Biomimetic scaffolds generally aim at structurally and compositionally imitating native tissue, thus providing a supportive microenvironment to the transplanted or recruited cells in the tissue. Native decellularized porcine extracellular matrix (ECM) is becoming the ultimate bioactive material for the regeneration of different organs. Particularly for cardiac regeneration, ECM is studied as a patch and injectable scaffolds, which improve cardiac function, yet lack reproducibility and are difficult to control or fine‐tune for the desired properties, like most natural materials. Seeking to harness the natural advantages of ECM in a reproducible, scalable, and controllable scaffold, for the first time, a matrix that is produced from whole decellularized porcine cardiac ECM using electrospinning technology, is developed. This unique electrospun cardiac ECM mat preserves the composition of ECM, self‐assembles into the same microstructure of cardiac ECM ,and ,above all, preserves key cardiac mechanical properties. It supports cell growth and function, and demonstrates biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, this work reveals the great potential of electrospun ECM‐based platforms for a wide span of biomedical applications, thus offering the possibility to produce complex natural materials as tailor‐made, well‐defined structures.