Engineered stem cell-based scaffolds and patches for heart disorders

Abstract

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and its prevalence is increasing. During a heart injury, such as myocardial infarction, cardiomyocytes are damaged and cannot be regenerated. Left untreated, this damage can have fatal results. Due to organ shortage, lack of tissue grafts for transplantation, and lack of success from current therapies, stem cell therapy and cardiac tissue engineering have emerged as potential approaches to replace damaged muscle and treat heart injuries. Research efforts in this fi eld focus on the development of innovative biomaterials that can serve as a biomimetic scaffold for growth and differentiation of stem cells into fully functional cardiac tissue. In this chapter, stem cell research, the formation of cardiac tissue from stem cells, cardiac tissue properties, biomimetic material scaffolds, and the convergence of stem cells and biomaterials are explored.