Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion produces a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage the myocardial tissue. Therefore, localized scavenging of ROS from the myocardial tissue would reduce its damage and avoid metabolic abnormalities caused by systemic ROS. In this study, a free radical scavenging and biodegradable supramolecular peptide (ECAFF, named as ECF-5) hydrogel was designed as a culture scaffold for cardiomyocytes. The peptide hydrogel significantly preserved the migration and proliferation of cardiomyocytes and reduced their damage from oxidative stress. In addition, the hydrogel degraded during cell growth, which implies that it may avoid thrombosis of the capillaries in practical use and provide the opportunity for the cells to attach to each other and form a functional tissue. The hydrogel can be used as a 3D culture scaffold for cardiomyocyte culture and allow cardiomyocytes to grow into tissue-like cell spheres. The excellent nature of the ECF-5 hydrogel enables it to have broad applications in the biomedical field in the future.
Keywords: cardiomyocytes; cell culture scaffold; peptide hydrogel; reactive oxygen species.