Arrieta Viana, Luis Felipe

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  • Publication
    Synthetic scaffolds as matrices for 3D cardiomyocyte culture
    (2024-05-07) Arrieta Viana, Luis Felipe; Torres-Lugo, Madeline; College of Engineering; Domenech-García, Maribella; Ortiz-Bermúdez, Patricia; Acevedo-Rullán, Aldo; Department of Chemical Engineering; Vargas Santiago, Jennifer
    Cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction (MI), account for approximately 33 % of global deaths according to the American Heart Association. MI, a major cause of heart failure, leads to loss of cardiac tissue and impaired ventricular function, necessitating progressive ventricular remodeling and myocyte rearrangement. To address this, bio-manufacturing of therapeutic cells has become crucial. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs), capable of differentiating into cardiomyocytes, often require scaffolds for growth in-vitro, though scaffold removal can affect cell phenotype. Our research introduces a 3-dimensional, thermo-responsive, transparent terpolymer scaffold synthesized from N-isopropylacrylamide (NiPAAm), vinylphenylboronic acid (VPBA), and polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether monomethacrylate (PEGMMA) using free radical polymerization. This terpolymer was characterized using Rheometry and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) to determine its thermal and mechanical properties, including Low Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) and terpolymer stiffness across concentration and blend conditions. Our findings confirm the scaffold's suitability at 37 °C for iPSC culture, ensuring biocompatibility and non-cytotoxicity. iPSCs grown on these scaffolds-maintained pluripotency and proliferation rates comparable to standard matrices like Matrigel®. Differentiated cardiomyocytes on this hydrogel exhibited crucial markers (cTnT and cTnI) and metabolic functions aligned with standards, suggesting its utility in cardiac tissue engineering, disease modeling, and drug screening, thereby advancing regenerative medicine and personalized therapies for heart conditions.