Growing Heart Cells on Paper: a New In Vitro Model

A group of scientists, for the first time, has developed a cardiac in vitro model based on the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells converted into cardiac cells and grown on a biomaterial scaffold made with polydimethylsiloxane and commercially available paper substrates (“the beating heart on paper” model). Cells could form beating cardiac tissue with a beating frequency of 40-70 beats per minute and could be cultured up to three months. This new model represents a suitable low-cost tool for tissue engineering applications and for drug testing.