Review Highlights MXenes as Conductive Scaffolds for Next-Generation Cardiac Patches

Heart attack survivors often face a stubborn engineering problem: the scarred region of myocardium no longer conducts electrical signals or contracts in synchrony with healthy tissue. A new review published in Annals of Biomedical Engineering argues that a family of two-dimensional nanomaterials known as MXenes could help cardiac patches close this gap. Written by a team led by Hamed Ghanbari and Mina Habibizadeh, the review surveys how MXene-based platforms might restore electrical conduction across infarcted regions while providing the mechanical support that conventional biomaterials frequently lack.

MXenes are two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides, a class of nanomaterials distinguished by exceptional electrical conductivity, mechanical flexibility, and tunable surface chemistry. According to the review, this combination enables electromechanical integration with myocardial tissue, allowing a patch to couple electrically with beating cardiomyocytes rather than acting as a passive scaffold. The authors analyze how MXene-mediated platforms enhance cardiomyocyte alignment, maturation, and synchronized contraction when conductive properties are paired with integrated topographical cues that guide cell organization.

Topography matters because heart muscle cells align and mature in response to the structural features of their environment. The review emphasizes that MXene-based patches can present both physical guidance and electrical coupling at once, addressing two shortcomings of existing cardiac biomaterials in a single platform. Compared to other conductive biomaterials, the authors report that MXenes demonstrate distinct properties that may facilitate conduction restoration across damaged tissue while simultaneously reinforcing the patch mechanically.

Beyond conductivity, the review highlights multifunctional capabilities that extend MXenes’ potential role in regeneration. The materials exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects, which the authors suggest could create a regenerative microenvironment around an implanted patch. These properties position MXenes as more than passive conductors: they may actively shape the biochemical conditions that determine whether transplanted cells and host tissue integrate successfully after infarction.

The review does not present MXenes as a solved problem. The authors identify key translational challenges that still separate laboratory demonstrations from clinically deployable patches, and they outline future directions for developing intelligent cardiac patches that converge MXene technology with personalized medicine approaches. The insights are offered as a roadmap, with the review positioning MXenes as promising biomaterials that require further investigation before they can bridge critical gaps in cardiac tissue engineering and offer solutions for myocardial regeneration.

Subject of Research: MXene-based conductive cardiac patches for myocardial tissue engineering

Article Title: Conductive MXene-Based Cardiac Patches: Topographical Approaches to Enhance Cardiomyocyte Function and Address Translational Engineering Challenges—A Review

Article References: Ghanbari, H., Habibizadeh, M., Yadegarazari, R., Samadi, Z., Mohammadi, S., Shackebaei, D., & Pouraghajan, K. (2026). Conductive MXene-Based Cardiac Patches: Topographical Approaches to Enhance Cardiomyocyte Function and Address Translational Engineering Challenges—A Review. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-026-04388-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s10439-026-04388-z

Keywords: MXenes, cardiac patches, cardiac tissue engineering, cardiomyocytes, myocardial infarction, electrical conductivity, topography, biomaterials, myocardial regeneration, personalized medicine, Conductive, MXene-Based