Optically active, paper-based scaffolds for 3D cardiac tissue engineering.

This article discusses a preprint abstract that describes the design and fabrication of a paper-based scaffold for 3D cardiac tissue engineering. The scaffold is made of paper cellulose microfibers that are functionalized with gold nanorods and semiconductor quantum dots, embedded into a collagen matrix. The gold nanorods enable modulation of cardiomyocyte activity through near-infrared laser illumination, with temperature changes reported by the quantum dots. This optical platform has the potential to impact drug screening, toxicity studies, and heart disease modeling. However, it is important to note that this preprint has not been peer-reviewed. [Extracted from the article]