Abstract

Myocardial cardiopathy is one of the highest disease burdens worldwide. The damaged myocardium has little intrinsic repair ability, and as a result, the distorted muscle loses strength for contraction, producing arrhythmias and fainting, and entails a high risk of sudden death. Permanent implantable conductive hydrogels that can restore contraction strength and conductivity appear to be promising candidates for myocardium functional recovery. In this work, we present a printable cardiac hydrogel that can exert functional effects on networks of cardiac myocytes. The hydrogel matrix was designed from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) dynamically cross-linked with gallic acid (GA) and the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). The resulting patches exhibited excellent electrical conductivity, elasticity, and mechanical and contractile strengths, which are critical parameters for reinforcing weakened cardiac contraction and impulse propagation. Furthermore, the PVA-GA/PEDOT blend is suitable for direct ink writing via a melting extrusion. As a proof of concept, we have proven the efficiency of the patches in propagating the electrical signal in adult mouse cardiomyocytes through