Living Anisotropic Structural Color Hydrogels for Cardiotoxicity Screening

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Toxicology

Background:

• Environmental toxins pose significant risks to human cardiac health.
• Assessing cardiotoxicity of environmental agents requires innovative models.
• Current methods for evaluating cardiac damage from toxins are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a heart-on-a-chip model for effective cardiotoxicity screening.
• To create a living anisotropic structural color hydrogel for monitoring cardiomyocyte activity.
• To provide a visual platform for assessing the impact of environmental toxins on cardiac tissue.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of anisotropic structural color hydrogels using a sandwich replicating approach.
• Incorporation of carbon nanotube (CNT) layers and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) for directed cardiomyocyte growth and function.
• Culturing of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) within the hydrogel system.
• Integration of the hiPSC-CM-cultured hydrogel into a heart-on-a-chip device for toxin exposure studies.

Main Results:

• The developed hydrogels exhibited stable structural color properties.
• Carbon nanotubes facilitated directional growth and autonomous beating of hiPSC-CMs.
• Structural color shifts in the hydrogel visually correlated with hiPSC-CM contraction and relaxation.
• The heart-on-a-chip system demonstrated effective cardiotoxicity screening of environmental toxins.

Conclusions:

• The heart-on-a-chip model with living anisotropic structural color hydrogels offers a superior platform for cardiotoxicity assessment.
• This innovative system provides a visual and responsive method for monitoring cardiac cell activity.
• The platform holds promise for evaluating the cardiac risks associated with environmental toxins.