Development of Light-Responsive Liquid Crystalline Elastomers to Assist Cardiac Contraction

Despite major advances in cardiovascular medicine, heart disease remains a leading cause of death worldwide. However, the field of tissue engineering has been growing exponentially in the last decade and restoring heart functionality is now an affordable target; yet, new materials are still needed for effectively provide rapid and long-lasting interventions. Liquid Crystalline Elastomers (LCEs) are biocompatible polymers able to reversibly change shape in response to a given stimulus, and generate movement. Once stimulated, LCEs can produce tension or movement like a muscle. However, so far their application in biology was limited by a slow response time and a modest possibility to modulate tension levels during activation.