In light of the limited efficacy of current treatments for cardiac regeneration, tissue engineering approaches have been explored for their potential to provide mechanical support to injured cardiac tissues, deliver cardio-protective molecules, and improve cell-based therapeutic techniques. Injectable hydrogels are a particularly appealing system as they hold promise as a minimally invasive therapeutic approach. Moreover, injectable acellular alginate-based hydrogels have been tested clinically in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and show preservation of the left ventricular (LV) indices and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). This review provides an overview of recent developments that have occurred in the design and engineering of various injectable hydrogel systems for cardiac tissue engineering efforts, including a comparison of natural versus synthetic systems with emphasis on the ideal characteristics for biomimetic cardiac materials.

Electrochemical DNA (E-DNA) biosensors enable the detection and quantification of a variety of molecular targets, including oligonucleotides, small molecules, heavy metals, antibodies, and proteins. Here we describe the design, electrode preparation and sensor attachment, and voltammetry conditions needed to generate and perform measurements using E-DNA biosensors against two protein targets, the biological toxins ricin and botulinum neurotoxin. This method can be applied to generate E-DNA biosensors for the detection of many other protein targets, with potential advantages over other systems including sensitive detection limits typically in the nanomolar range, real-time monitoring, and reusable biosensors.

We have developed an electrochemical biosensor for the detection of uranium, in the uranyl ion form, at low levels in water. This biosensor could have both academic and environmental monitoring applications. Uranium contamination of water sources poses serious health consequences, and this biosensor may aid in the improvement of targeting and the efficiency of remediation of contaminated water sources by improving the speed of initial identification as well as monitoring during remediation efforts. Our design uses a modified uranyl‐binding aptamer that has been inserted into an oligonucleotide scaffold to create a reusable, conformation‐switching electrochemical DNA biosensor with an apparent dissociation constant of 15±5 μM and a limit of detection within an order of magnitude of the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contamination level for uranium in drinking water.