title: Macroporous nanowire nanoelectronic scaffolds for synthetic tissues.
abstract: The development of three-dimensional (3D) synthetic biomaterials as structural and bioactive scaffolds is central to fields ranging from cellular biophysics to regenerative medicine. As of yet, these scaffolds cannot electrically probe the physicochemical and biological microenvironments throughout their 3D and macroporous interior, although this capability could have a marked impact in both electronics and biomaterials. Here, we address this challenge using macroporous, flexible and free-standing nanowire nanoelectronic scaffolds (nanoES), and their hybrids with synthetic or natural biomaterials. 3D macroporous nanoES mimic the structure of natural tissue scaffolds, and they were formed by self-organization of coplanar reticular networks with built-in strain and by manipulation of 2D mesh matrices. NanoES exhibited robust electronic properties and have been used alone or combined with other biomaterials as biocompatible extracellular scaffolds for 3D culture of neurons, cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, we show the integrated sensory capability of the nanoES by real-time monitoring of the local electrical activity within 3D nanoES/cardiomyocyte constructs, the response of 3D-nanoES-based neural and cardiac tissue models to drugs, and distinct pH changes inside and outside tubular vascular smooth muscle constructs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Bozhi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dvir
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qing
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Suo
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kohane
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lieber
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014173:Transistors, Electronic
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D012825:Silicon