Search

InterScience or from the author. Regeneration or repair of the damaged myocardium requires different strategies including engineered constructs for more efficient cell delivery. This study was undertaken to examine the potential of a new nanostructured elastomer to deliver embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (ESC-CM) to an infarcted area of the myocardium. Engineered materials were biocompatible, mechanically stable, and elastomeric nanocomposites serving as substrates for delivery of ESC-CM and as a left ventricular support device in myocardial regeneration strategies. Materials investigated were soft and strong poly(aliphatic/aromatic-ester) multiblock thermoplastic elastomers with poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) hard segments and dimerized fatty acid, i.e., dilinoleic acid (DLA) soft segments, respectively, with and without addition of 0.2 wt% TiO2 nanoparticles to form nanocomposites. The PET/ DLA-TiO2 nanocomposite exhibited over 8MPa tensile strength and 900% elongation at break. Addition of TiO2 nanoparticles significantly altered surface roughness and enhanced adhesion and spreading of ESC-CM derived from mouse and human embryonic stem cells. The newly developed materials did not affect the functional activity of spontaneously beating hESC-CM, as demonstrated by unaltered rate of their beating, and the cells continued to demonstrate contractile activity on the materials for more than two months in culture (the longest time tested). Quantitative proliferation and survival assays using fibroblasts confirmed the ability of the new materials to support cells as well as or better than the present commercial-type thermoplastic elastomer analog. The results indicate that PET/ DLA and PET/DLA-TiO2 are promising candidates for the manufacture of engineered patches to deliver ESC-CMs.