Nanoengineering in cardiac regeneration: Looking back and going forward

To deliver on the promise of cardiac regeneration, an integration process between an emerging field, nanomedicine, and a more consolidated one, tissue engineering, has begun. Our work aims at summarizing some of the most relevant prevailing cases of nanotechnological approaches applied to tissue engineering with a specific interest in cardiac regenerative medicine, as well as delineating some of the most compelling forthcoming orientations. Specifically, this review starts with a brief statement on the relevant clinical need, and then debates how nanotechnology can be combined with tissue engineering in the scope of mimicking a complex tissue like the myocardium and its natural extracellular matrix (ECM). The interaction of relevant stem, precursor, and differentiated cardiac cells with nanoengineered scaffolds is thoroughly presented. Another correspondingly relevant area of experimental study enclosing both nanotechnology and cardiac regeneration, e.g., nanoparticle applications in cardiac tissue engineering, is also discussed.