Lyotropic Liquid Crystals: A Biocompatible and Safe Material for Local Cardiac Application

The regeneration of cardiac tissue is a multidisciplinary research field aiming to improve the health condition of the post-heart attack patient. Indeed, myocardial tissue has a poor ability to self-regenerate after severe damage. The scientific efforts focused on the research of a biomaterial able to adapt to heart tissue, thus guaranteeing the in situ release of active substances or growth promoters. Many types of hydrogels were proposed for this purpose, showing several limitations. The aim of this study was to suggest a new usage for glyceryl monooleate-based lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) as a biocompatible and inert material for a myocardial application. The main advantages of LLCs are mainly related to their easy in situ injection as lamellar phase and their instant in situ transition in the cubic phase. In vivo studies proved the biocompatibility and the inertia of LLCs after their application on the myocardial tissue of mice. In detail, the cardiac activity was monitored through 28 days, and no significant alterations were recorded in the heart anatomy and functionality. Moreover, gross anatomy showed the ability of LLCs to be bio-degraded in a suitable time frame. Overall, these results permitted us to suppose a potential use of LLCs as materials for cardiac drug delivery.