Hybrid Biodegradable Polymeric Scaffolds for Cardiac Tissue Engineering

Cardiovascular diseases are accounted the number one cause of death worldwide. Besides, this great threat will continue to arise in the future. Cardiac transplantation is an efficient option to fix this issue. However, the insufficiency of voluntary donors following circulatory death rendered this option a highly significant challenge. Recent approaches for cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) are presenting substantial promises in this track. Revitalization of the heart relied over the years on using many sorts of available conventional prosthetic materials. However, being non-biodegradable, they permanently remain inside the body as permanent foreign substances that can act as an infection nidus. To handle these problems, diverse strategies have been adopted to fabricate polymeric scaffolds for CTE. Biodegradation polymers (BPs) have been presented as successful alternatives in different forms like heart patches, injectable polymeric gels, or artificial vessels. Several natural and synthetic BPs have been utilized. While the merge of both types to produce hybrid natural/synthetic BPs comes at the forefront. Moreover, the recent evolution of nano-designed polymers and polymeric nanocomposites has presented remarkable advances to the area of CTE. They can support tissue regeneration via their outstanding surface, electrical, and mechanical features. A brief outline of the existing approaches employed for CTE is presented in the present chapter. Furthermore, different natural, synthetic, and hybrid BPs exploited for the same purpose are highlighted. Their merits and demerits, in addition to the directions of future research, are discussed.