Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

Biohybrid hydrogel could be used for cardiac tissue repair

December 19, 2018 By Chris Newmarker

Heather Thompson, Senior Editor

biohybrid hydrogel Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Biohybrid hydrogel [Image courtesy of Kaveh Roshanbinfar at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)]

A research group has created a biohybrid hydrogel for heart tissue that provides electrical conduction without compromising heartbeat maturation or causing arrhythmias.

Scientists from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and other German institutes developed the biohybrid hydrogel to overcome inefficient electrical conducting in alternative methods.  Their work was published in Advanced Functional Materials.

The hydrogel is made of collagen, alginate and an electroconductive poly blend, known as polyethylenedioxythiophene:polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). It mimics extracellular fibrous structures and enhances electrical coupling as well as cardiomyocyte maturation.

The PEDOT:PSS represents a departure from more widely-studied materials, polyaniline and polypyrrole, because of its ability to disperse water. Presence of PEDOT:PSS in the hydrogel improves electrical conductivity and prevents arrhythmia of tissue constructs containing neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

Kaveh Roshanbinfar, a doctoral student at FAU and primary author of the study, noted to Cambridge University Press that existing treatments for cardiac tissue frequently cause cardiac arrhythmias, and insufficient electrical conduction within cardiac tissue.

During development, researchers sought alternatives to seeding prefabricated scaffolds and 3D biofabrication because these methods pack cells too tightly and do not create homogenous cell densities or uniform conductivity. Nonhomogenous cell densities can lead to cell death among other challenges. And non-uniform conductivity can lead to arrhythmia, as noted earlier.

The researchers also developed the graft so that it would be able to support pharmaceutical research that reduces the need for animal studies. Using the graft provides a platform to study the pharmacological effects of different drugs on cardiac function while expediting the preliminary screening processes in drug development.

Bioengineered cardiac tissue holds great promise in treating various cardiovascular diseases. Developing the processes and fine-tuning the materials are important steps in advancing the science.

Related Articles Read More >

MedTrace Pharma's P3 automated delivery system for 15-O water in action
MedTrace Pharma moves forward on 15 O-water imaging tech
Ariste Medical co-founder Lisa Jennings
Ariste Medical co-founder sees great potential for drug-coated implants and orthopedics
What is microscale 3D printing? Lessons learned from Mayo Clinic
Annoviant
NIH funds Annoviant heart implant materials tech that can grow with children

DeviceTalks Weekly.

June 24, 2022
How innovative design, commercial strategy is building Cala Trio’s bioelectronic medicine market
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech 100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech