Abstract

Introduction: The direct approach of cardiac tissue engineering is to mimic the natural tissue of heart, considering the significant role of scaffolding and mechanical simulation.  Methods: To achieve this purpose, a composite Polycaprolactone (PCL)/Gelatin electrospun scaffold with a ratio of 70:30 and with the most similarities to the cardiac extracellular matrix was fabricated with aligned nanofibers. The scaffold was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical strength analysis, and contact angle test. To simulate the cardiac contraction, a developed Mechanical Loading Device (Bioreactor) was designed to apply a mechanical load with a specific frequency and tensile rate values in the direction of aligned nanofibers due to simulating natural cardiac tissue. Results: Based on our results from the contact angle and mechanical strength tests, we concluded that our designed scaffold has appropriate adhesion and strength to use as cardiac scaffold and is suitable for imposing the frequency of 1Hz and 10 strain. The Bioreactor also worked properly in producing the required frequency, tensile rate and temperature.  Conclusion: Since an essential difference between cardiomyocytes and other cells is their contraction, manufacturing a biomimetic bioreactor to simulate the normal cardiac contraction of cardiomyocytes and their required temperature to be survived in-vitro could be a promising approach in cardiac tissue engineering.