Recent advances in biological macromolecule based tissue-engineered composite scaffolds for cardiac tissue regeneration applications

Tissue engineering has become a primary research topic for the treatment of diseased or damaged cardiac tissue, which is a global healthcare concern. Current tissue engineering strategies utilise biomimetic scaffolds and cells that promote healthy growth and regeneration of cardiac tissue. Successful cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) requires scaffolds that mimic the natural anisotropy and microstructure of native tissues, while simultaneously supporting proliferation and differentiation and acting as a natural extracellular matrix (ECM) substitute until it is replaced by the body's residing cells. Among the various types of scaffolding materials, naturally occurred biological macromolecules, synthetic polymers, electroconductive polymers and electroconductive nanoparticles are utilised due to their unique biological and physicochemical properties. In this context, naturally occurred biological macromolecules has gained significant attention in designing tissue engineered composite scaffolds for cardiac tissue regeneration applications due to their excellent biocompatibility, cytocompatibility, biodegradability, and low immunogenicity. The objective of this review is to summarize the micro and macro architecture of the heart and its functional properties and provides a firm summarization of recent progress in biological macromolecules based composites scaffolds with innovative fabrication techniques so that it may help the design of novel substitutes for cardiac tissue regeneration application. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.