Carrageenan-based hydrogels for the controlled delivery of PDGF-BB in bone tissue engineering applications

摘要

One of the major drawbacks found in most bone tissue engineering approaches developed so far consists in thelack of strategies to promote vascularisation. Some studies have addressed different issues that may enhancevascularisation in tissue engineered constructs, most of them involving the use of growth factors (GFs) that areinvolved in the restitution of the vascularity in a damaged zone. The use of sustained delivery systems might alsoplay an important role in the re-establishment of angiogenesis. In this study, !-carrageenan, a naturally occurringpolymer, was used to develop hydrogel beads with the ability to incorporate GFs with the purpose of establishingan effective angiogenesis mechanism. Some processing parameters were studied and their influence on the finalbead properties was evaluated. Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF-BB) was selected as the angiogenic factorto incorporate in the developed beads, and the results demonstrate the achievement of an efficient encapsulationand controlled release profile matching those usually required for the development of a fully functional vascularnetwork. In general, the obtained results demonstrate the potential of these systems for bone tissue engineeringapplications.