Development of a cardiac patch based on a bilayer, conductive, biomimetic, polymeric scaffold

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Cardiovascular diseases eventually resulting in heart failure are among the leading causes of death worldwide with a one-year mortality of presently greater than 25%. The five-year mortality of heart failure is in the range of the mortality of tumor diseases. The prognosis of acute heart failure is still poor and remains unimproved despite major investment in novel therapies. Thus, it is important to further improve therapies for chronic heart failure. Cardiac tissue engineering offers the promise of creating functional tissue replacements combining biomaterial scaffolds, cells and growth factors for treating heart failure. Although cardiac tissue engineering has increasingly been recognized as a viable therapeutic option, an ideal scaffold for engineering cardiac tissue in vitro has not yet materialized. Therefore, the goal of this project is to develop a Bilayer, Conductive, Biomimetic, Polymeric Scaffold, which can be used for the engineering of a cardiac patch. The ultimate goal is transplantable tissue that can replace diseased tissue in patients. The Bilayer Scaffold will be designed to mimic the anisotropic structure and mechanical properties of the native cardiac ECM, provide contact guidance, and an electroactive surface for the development of a functional cardiac construct