Reduced graphene oxide foam templated by nickel foam for organ-on-a-chip engineering of cardiac constructs

Myocardial tissue engineering has attracted increasing awareness for heart failure, and researchers are committed to developing an appropriate biological material to reconstruct myocardial tissues. Here, we applied a simple and high-throughput method to fabricate a three-dimensional (3D) partially reduced graphene oxide (PRGO) foam chip, whose structure, properties and biocompatibility confirmed that it is a suitable material for myocardial tissue engineering. The PRGO foam was produced based on a reduction reaction that occurred at the interface between the graphene oxide (GO) solution and Ni foam; as the Ni foam scaffold was dissolved in an HCl solution, the PRGO foam was harvested. After the PRGO foam was freeze-dried, its elasticity property was evaluated, and primary cardiomyocytes obtained from 2-day-old SD rats were cultured in the 3D foam. The results demonstrated good cell adherence, spreading, activity, organization and beating function in the PRGO foam during the long-term culturing process, which proved that the PRGO foam obtained by this method had application potential for myocardial tissue engineering.