Here we demonstrate a new developed method for depositing Ti3C2Tx MXenes onto hydrophobic electrospun PCL membranes using oxygen plasma treatment. These novel patches hold tremendous potential for providing mechanical support to damaged heart tissue and enabling electrical signal transmission,thereby mimicking the crucial electroconductivity required for normal cardiac function. After a detailed investigation of scaffold-to-cell interplay, including electrical stimulation, novel technology has the potential for clinical application not only for cardiac regeneration, but also as neural and muscular tissue substitutes.

 Novel electrically conductive electrospun PCL‑MXene scaffolds for cardiac tissue regeneration

Kateryna Diedkova^1,2 · Yevheniia Husak^1,3 · Wojciech Simka³ · Viktoriia Korniienko^1,2 · Bojan Petrovic⁴ · Anton Roshchupkin¹ · Agnieszka Stolarczyk³ · Natalia Waloszczyk³ · Ilya Yanko¹ · Kaspars Jekabsons² · Maria Čaplovičová⁵ · Alexander D. Pogrebnjak^1,6 · Veronika Zahorodna⁷ · Oleksiy Gogotsi⁷ · Iryna Roslyk⁷ · Ivan Baginskiy^1,7 · Marko Radovic⁸ · Sanja Kojic⁹ · Una Riekstina² · Maksym Pogorielov^1,2

¹ Sumy State University, 2 Rymskogo‑Korsakova St, Sumy 40007, Ukraine
² University of Latvia, 3 Jelgavas St, Riga 1004, Latvia
³ Faculty of Chemistry, Silesian University of Technology, 9, Strzody St, 44‑100 Gliwice, Poland
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
⁵ Centre for Nanodiagnostics of Materials, Slovak, University of Technology in Bratislava, 5 Vazovova St, Bratislava 812 43, Slovakia
⁶ Faculty of Material Science in Trnava, Institute of Materials, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Jana Bottu c2781/25, Trnava, Slovakia
⁷ Materials Research Centre, 3 Krzhizhanovskogo St, Kyiv 03142, Ukraine
⁸ University of Novi Sad, BioSense Institute, Dr Zorana Djindjica 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
⁹ Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

Effective cardiac tissue regeneration necessitates scaffolds that mimic the native extracellular matrix and possess desirable properties, such as electrical conductivity and biocompatibility. The choice of an appropriate fabrication method is paramount in achieving reproducibility, scalability, and rapid production of cardiac tissue patches. Electrospinning, a versatile and widely utilized technique, offers precise control over fiber diameter, pore size, and alignment, rendering it an ideal method for creating intricate cardiac scaffolds. In light of the limitations of existing therapies and the need for innovative approaches, this research aims to explore the development of novel patches for cardiac tissue regeneration. By investigating the integration of MXenes into electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes, we aim to harness the unique properties of MXenes to create conductive, biocompatible, and mechanically robust scaffolds that promote cell adhesion, proliferation, and functional maturation.

The application of oxygen plasma treatment enhances the infiltration of MXene into the PCL electrospun membrane, significantly reducing the surface contact angle and promoting cell adhesion. Regardless of the number of MXene deposition repetitions, all variants demonstrated strong biocompatibility and supported the formation of cell symplasts after fibroblast seeding. The remarkable electrical conductivity of PCL-MXene membranes, coupled with the positive biological outcomes presented in this study, has the potential to drive significant advancements in the field of cardiac tissue engineering. This research offers fresh insights and approaches to tackle the challenges associated with myocardial repair and regeneration.

 In this research, we have developed a new method for depositing Ti3C2Tx MXenes onto hydrophobic electrospun PCL membranes using oxygen plasma treatment. This innovative approach has demonstrated a positive impact on fiber size, increased the porous structure and significantly reducing the contact angle of the PCL membrane and facilitating deep impregnation of MXene into the material. The resulting PCL-MXene composite membrane is non toxic, exhibits the desired conductive properties necessary for cardiac tissue regeneration, with no significant differences observed between the various numbers of MXene depositions. Overall, the incorporation of MXenes into biodegradable PCL membranes shows promise in conferring electroconductivity and enhancing cellular response in tissue-engineered cardiac patches.

These novel patches hold tremendous potential for providing mechanical support to damaged heart tissue and enabling electrical signal transmission,thereby mimicking the crucial electroconductivity required for normal cardiac function. After a detailed investigation of scaffold-to-cell interplay, including electrical stimulation, novel technology has the potential for clinical application not only for cardiac regeneration, but also as neural and muscular tissue substitutes.

Keywords: MXene · PCL · Electroconductive electrospun membrane · Oxygen plasma treatment · Tissue regeneration

Read more on the publisher`s website:

Diedkova, K., Husak, Y., Simka, W. et al. Novel electrically conductive electrospun PCL-MXene scaffolds for cardiac tissue regeneration. Graphene and 2D Mater (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41127-023-00071-5

MXene-Assisted Ablation of Cells with a Pulsed Near-Infrared Laser