Fabian Züger carried out his experimental work at the FHNW School of Life Sciences. Replacement tissue for the heart In his doctoral dissertation, Dr. Fabian Züger developed a promising strategy to produce replacement heart tissue that mimics the structures and characteristics of the cardiac muscle. As a base material, he developed a tai- lor-made bioink made of methyl cellulose Morris Degen (left) won the prize for the best talk and gelatin that contained myocardial and Anamarija Nikoletić (right) the prize for the cells from rats and showed excellent best poster at the Annual Event in 2024 at Lake printing properties. The ink could be used Hallwil. SNI Director Martino Poggio (center) pre- sented the prizes at the end of the two-day con- to print up to 5.4 million cells per milli- ference. (Image: K. Beyer-Hans, SNI, University of meter and to configure the stiffness in Basel) order to mimic the various tissue types, including the cardiac muscle. Fabian Züger also used electrospinning to pro- duce fine, conductive, tailor-made nano- fibers comprising a mixture of carbon “The SNI Annual Event is nanotubes and polycaprolactone, deliver- always a special highlight for ing a combination that mimicked the nat- me, as it offers a unique oppor- ural extracellular matrix of the heart. tunity to gain insights into In Fabians’s investigations, over 90% cutting-edge research outside of the printed cardiac muscle cells sur- my own field and to exchange vived. After just five to eight days, the ideas with researchers from a cells began to contract spontaneously — wide range of disciplines in a which is normal and desirable behavior relaxed atmosphere. It was a for heart cells. The conductive nanofibers great honor to receive the Best had a positive influence on the control of Talk Award for my presentation.” such cells. Morris Degen, This system successfully combines the Doctoral student at the SNI PhD benefits of 3D bioprinting and electro- School and winner of the Best Talk spinning, offering an innovative method Award at the Annual Event 2024 for the production of cardiac tissue for research and potential applications in re- generative medicine. Publication: https://doi.org/10.3390/biomi- metics8010027 SNI Annual Report 2024 19