Cell Therapies for Heart Function Recovery: Focus on Myocardial Tissue Engineering and Nanotechnologies

Figure 2

Schematic illustration of different functionalization principles. (I) Smart materials, changing conformation, and exposing different chemical groups upon temperature change or a change in enzyme concentration. (II) Surface functionalized materials. A synthetic scaffold is immersed in a ECM protein solution, allowing for protein adsortion on the surface. (III) Covalently functionalized scaffolds. Functional proteins are coupled to the surface via EDC/NHS chemistry. (IV) Blend materials, (a) hybrid scaffolds of various polymers or (b) hybrid scaffolds of polymers and drugs for controlled release.