Cardiac tissue engineering

Abstract

This book chapter will explore the area of cardiac tissue engineering and biomaterials used for cardiac cell therapy. After describing the pathology of heart disease and presenting the motivation for pursuing tissue engineering for the heart, the chapter outlines some of the current clinical treatments used to correct the loss of function resulting from heart disease. Current collection of studies is then divided broadly into two sections: cell injection and engineered heart patches. Chemical modifications and biomolecule incorporation are examined for the cell injection studies. Types of scaffolds as well as cultivation techniques are discussed for the engineered heart patches. Finally, future directions in the field including finding a suitable cell source and increasing the vascularization of the patches are suggested. © 2011 Springer-Verlag/Wien.