Design and development of viscoelastic and electroconductive hydrogels for in vitro models of cardiac tissue

Myocardial infarction is a major cause of death worldwide. Cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) offers biomaterial-based strategies to restore cardiac function and develop in vitro models for drug discovery. Biomimetic 3D hydrogels reproducing ECM-like viscoelasticity and electroconductivity are crucial for cell regulation and maturation. This thesis was aimed at the optimization of previously formulated click-chemistry based double cross-linked hydrogels . Particularly, the addition of an electroconductive filler was investigated, as well as the biological validation of hydrogels for the in vitro modeling of cardiac tissue.