# Large-Area Flexible Photopolymerized Scaffolds: Fabrication and Application to Cardiomyocytes

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method to create flexible, large-area scaffolds using laser technology, which supports the growth and maturation of heart muscle cells.

## Contribution

A novel fabrication technique for scalable, customizable, and electrically conductive 2D scaffolds for biomedical applications.

## Key findings

- Scaffolds can be fabricated over large areas with high precision and flexibility.
- Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes thrive on these scaffolds, showing synchronized beating and maturation.
- Scaffolds deform periodically due to cell activity, indicating strong cell-scaffold interaction.

## Abstract

Direct laser writing
is a remarkable process for digitally sustainable
and fully customized manufacturing of medical components. This study
reports on the fabrication of large-area 2D polymer-based scaffolds
by ultrashort laser pulses. Designs for scaffolds can be fabricated
in minutes over large centimeter areas. They are free-standing, thin,
and flexible, with feature sizes down to a few microns. Isotropic
and non-isotropic fibrous-like geometries are possible. Scaffolds
can be rendered electrically conducting in whole or in part. They
have excellent deformability; they can be elastically strained to
20% without fracture. Adhesion, proliferation, and alignment of human-induced
pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes thrive when deployed
on scaffolds. Cells are shown to mature well. A comprehensive network
of sarcomeres and contractile agility is also observed across the
scaffold. Synchronized beating of cells is observed over large areas
for time scales of up to 30 days. Evidence of the periodic deformation
of the scaffold due to the cyclic forces exerted by the beating cells
is observed. The approach is promising for industrial-scale fabrication
of 2D scaffold structures tailored to the geometrical, mechanical,
and electrical requirements of many cell and tissue targets beyond
cardiomyocytes, with future 3D structures realizable by folding or
layering.