Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional Conductive Scaffolds for Stimulated Cell Culture

The inability to create three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds with user-defined properties poses a challenge in recapitulating the in vivo cellular microenvironment in tissue engineering. We synthesized a 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) based porous 3D scaffold with tunable conductive and mechanical properties. This system may be beneficial for uniform stimulation of cardiac, neuronal, muscle, and bone cells. Thiol end-functionalized-poly(HEMA) (TF-pHEMA) was prepared and polymerized with HEMA around a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microparticle lattice. Subsequent dissolution of the PMMA particles yielded homogeneous and porous HEMA/TF-pHEMA scaffolds. Conductivity was enhanced by reducing gold homogeneously throughout the scaffold at thiol locations. By varying the TF-pHEMA content in the scaffolds, conductivities as high as 15 S/m were achieved within the highly porous network. Scaffold stiffness can be independently controlled by varying the cross-linker content during polymerization. We demonstrated that these flexible and conductive scaffolds support NIH/3T3 cells and primary cardiac cells attachment and proliferation while responding to electrical stimulation.