Biomaterials, Volume 33, Issue 26, September 2012, Pages 6132–6139

Heart disease is a leading cause of death globally. Once damaged by heart attack, cardiac muscle has very little capacity for self-repair and at present there are no clinical treatments available to repair damaged cardiac muscle tissue. This collaboration between the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at the National University of Ireland Galway and CRANN has capitalised on the electrical properties of a widely used nanomaterial to develop cells which may allow the regeneration of cardiac cells.

Our data show that by providing a biomimetic electroactive cue, manipulation of the MSC differentiation pathway can be achieved by harnessing the electrical properties of a carbon nanotube based medium or scaffold. Since proof of principle has been established herein, the biomimetic properties of such a platform can be now exploited even further and tailored for other electroactive environments in the heart, the brain or the spinal cord. Ultimately, this strategy provides an opportunity for future studies in the quest to use CNT and MSCs to promote electroactive tissue repair.