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Recapitulation of the cellular microenvironment of the heart, which promotes cell contraction, remains a key challenge in cardiac tissue engineering. We report here on our work, where for the first time, a 3-dimensional (3D) spring-like fiber scaffold was fabricated, successfully mimicking the coiled perimysial fibers of the heart. We hypothesized that since in vivo straightening and re-coiling of these fibers allow stretching and contraction of the myocardium in the direction of the cardiomyocytes, such a scaffold can support the assembly of a functional cardiac tissue capable of generating a strong contraction force. In this study, the mechanical properties of both spring-like single fibers and 3D scaffolds composed of them were investigated. The measurements showed that they have increased elasticity and extensibility compared to corresponding straight fibers and straight fiber scaffolds. We have also shown that cardiac …