title: Cardiomyocyte behavior on biodegradable polyurethane/gold nanocomposite scaffolds under electrical stimulation.
abstract: Following a myocardial infarction (MI), cardiomyocytes are replaced by scar tissue, which decreases ventricular contractile function. Tissue engineering is a promising approach to regenerate such damaged cardiomyocyte tissue. Engineered cardiac patches can be fabricated by seeding a high density of cardiac cells onto a synthetic or natural porous polymer. In this study, nanocomposite scaffolds made of gold nanotubes/nanowires incorporated into biodegradable castor oil-based polyurethane were employed to make micro-porous scaffolds. H9C2 cardiomyocyte cells were cultured on the scaffolds for one day, and electrical stimulation was applied to improve cell communication and interaction in neighboring pores. Cells on scaffolds were examined by fluorescence microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, revealing that the combination of scaffold design and electrical stimulation significantly increased cell confluency of H9C2 cells on the scaffolds. Furthermore, we showed that the gene expression levels of Nkx2.5, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANF) and natriuretic peptide precursor B (NPPB), which are functional genes of the myocardium, were up-regulated by the incorporation of gold nanotubes/nanowires into the polyurethane scaffolds, in particular after electrical stimulation.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, 424 Hafez Ave, Tehran, Iran; Institute for Materials Science, Dept. Biocompatible Nanomaterials, University of Kiel, Kaiserstr. 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Yasaman
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ganji
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Science, Dept. Biocompatible Nanomaterials, University of Kiel, Kaiserstr. 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Kiel, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, Building 27, D-24105 Kiel, Germany; Institute of Immunology, University of Kiel, Arnold-Heller-Str. 3, Building 17, D-24105 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Elgar Susanne
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Quabius
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Kiel, Otto-Hahn-Platz 8, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Böttner
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Science, Dept. Biocompatible Nanomaterials, University of Kiel, Kaiserstr. 2, D-24143 Kiel, Germany. Electronic address: cse@tf.uni-kiel.de.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Selhuber-Unkel
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, 424 Hafez Ave, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kasra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000378:metabolism*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011140:Polyurethanes; D006046:Gold
keywords: Adhesion; Biodegradable polyurethane; Cardiac tissue engineering; Electrical stimulation; Gold nanotube/nanowire; Nanocomposite