title: A conducting polymer with enhanced electronic stability applied in cardiac models.
abstract: Electrically active constructs can have a beneficial effect on electroresponsive tissues, such as the brain, heart, and nervous system. Conducting polymers (CPs) are being considered as components of these constructs because of their intrinsic electroactive and flexible nature. However, their clinical application has been largely hampered by their short operational time due to a decrease in their electronic properties. We show that, by immobilizing the dopant in the conductive scaffold, we can prevent its electric deterioration. We grew polyaniline (PANI) doped with phytic acid on the surface of a chitosan film. The strong chelation between phytic acid and chitosan led to a conductive patch with retained electroactivity, low surface resistivity (35.85 ± 9.40 kilohms per square), and oxidized form after 2 weeks of incubation in physiological medium. Ex vivo experiments revealed that the conductive nature of the patch has an immediate effect on the electrophysiology of the heart. Preliminary in vivo experiments showed that the conductive patch does not induce proarrhythmogenic activities in the heart. Our findings set the foundation for the design of electronically stable CP-based scaffolds. This provides a robust conductive system that could be used at the interface with electroresponsive tissue to better understand the interaction and effect of these materials on the electrophysiology of these tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.; Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.; School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Damia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mawad
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mansfield
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience Research Group, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lauto
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1540-2777
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perbellini
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Geoffrey W
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9814-507X
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tonkin
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Sean O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Bello
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Damon J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Carrad
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Adam P
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2855-3582
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Micolich
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.; Faculty of Applied Sciences Universiti Teknologi Mara, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohd M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mahat
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Furman
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.; National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, U.K.
authors.forename: Alexander R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Lyon
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, Australian Centre for NanoMedicine and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: J Justin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5398-0597
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gooding
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, U.K.
authors.forename: Sian E
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3651-6354
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Cesare M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Terracciano
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.; Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Molly M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Stevens
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009206:Myocardium; D010833:Phytic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; C416807:polyaniline; D010833:Phytic Acid; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Conducting polymer; bioadhesive; bioelectronic; cardiac; electronic stability; ex vivo; in vivo; optical mapping