Printing biohybrid materials for bioelectronic cardio-3D-cellular constructs
Paola Sanjuan‐Alberte, Charlie Whitehead, Joshua N. Jones, João C. Silva, Nathan Carter, Simon C. Kellaway, Richard Hague, Joaquim M. S. Cabral, Frederico Castelo Ferreira, Lisa J. White, Frankie J. Rawson
Abstract
Conductive hydrogels are emerging as promising materials for bioelectronic applications as they minimize the mismatch between biological and electronic systems. We propose a strategy to bioprint biohybrid conductive bioinks based on decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. These inks contained conductive features and morphology of the dECM fibers. Electrical stimulation (ES) was applied to bioprinted structures containing human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs). It was observed that in the absence of external ES, the conductive properties of the materials can improve the contractile behavior of the hPSC-CMs, and this effect is enhanced under the application of external ES. Genetic markers indicated a trend toward a more mature state of the cells with upregulated calcium handling proteins and downregulation of calcium channels involved in the generation of pacemaking currents. These results demonstrate the potential of our strategy to manufacture conductive hydrogels in complex geometries for actuating purposes.