Integration of mesenchymal stem cells with nanobiomaterials for the repair of myocardial infarction

The integration of nanobiomaterials with stem cells represents a promising strategy for the treatment of myocardial infarction. While stem cells and nanobiomaterials each demonstrated partial success in cardiac repair individually, the therapeutic efficacy of the clinical settings for each of these has been low. Hence, a combination of nanobiomaterials with stem cells is vigorously studied to create synergistic effects for treating myocardial infarction. To date, various types of nanomaterials have been incorporated with stem cells to control cell fate, modulate the therapeutic behavior of stem cells, and make them more suitable for cardiac repair. Here, we review the current stem cell therapies for cardiac repair and describe the combinatorial approaches of using nanobiomaterials and stem cells to improve therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of myocardial infarction. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.