Versatile electrical stimulator for cardiac tissue engineering-Investigation of charge-balanced monophasic and biphasic electrical stimulations.

The application of biomimetic physical stimuli replicating the dynamic microenvironment is crucial for the development of functional cardiac tissues. In particular, pulsed electrical stimulation (ES) has been shown to improve the functional properties of cultured cardiomyocytes. However, commercially available electrical stimulators are expensive and cumbersome devices while customized solutions often allow limited parameter tunability, constraining the investigation of different ES protocols.

Bizonal cardiac engineered tissues with differential maturation features in a mid-throughput multimodal bioreactor.

Functional three-dimensional (3D) engineered cardiac tissue (ECT) models are essential for effective drug screening and biological studies. Application of physiological cues mimicking those typical of the native myocardium is known to promote the cardiac maturation and functionality . Commercially available bioreactors can apply one physical force type at a time and often in a restricted loading range.