Novel Biopolymers/Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composite Scaffolds for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

This work introduces the novel gelatin/chitosan blend scaffolds containing different amounts of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) up to 0.1wt%, which were prepared by freeze drying (freezing and lyophilization). The composite scaffolds were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to distinguish the functional groups and different bonds in the structure of composite, and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE−SEM) to evaluate the morphology of scaffolds. The scaffolds with the porosity of 89−93% and pore size of 40−200µm could be obtained by freezing at −20 °C and subsequent lyophilization. The porosity and swelling ratio of scaffolds were decreased, but the pore diameter was increased with an addition of f-MWCNTs. The electrical conductivity of incorporated scaffolds showed a significant increase with f-MWCNTs at an amount of 0.05wt%, and could achieve to those of the heart muscle. Compressive mechanical properties of the scaffolds revealed that the incorporation of f-MWCNTs led to significantly stiff the biopolymeric scaffold. The findings indicate that these novel fabricated composite scaffolds have microstructurally and electrically the potential to use in cardiac tissue engineering applications.