Tuning hierarchical architecture of 3D polymeric scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering

Tissue engineering combines the fields of engineering, chemistry, biology, and medicine to fabricate replacement tissues able to restore, maintain, or improve structurally and functionally damaged organs. The approach of regenerative medicine is of paramount importance for treating patients with severe cardiac diseases. For successful exploitation, the challenge for cardiac regenerative medicine is to identify the suitable combination between the best cell source for cardiac repair and the design of the optimal scaffold as a template for tissue replacement. Adult stem cells have the potential to improve regenerative medicine with their peculiar feature to self-renew and differentiate into various phenotypes. Insights into the stem cell field lead to the identification of the suitable scaffold features that enhance the ex vivo proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Scaffolds composed of natural and/or synthetic polymers can organise stem cells into complex architectures that mimic native tissues....