release kinetics of b-FGF was a function of the ionic nature and degree of swelling of the hydrogels. Laser Doppler Perfusion Imaging (LDPI) was employed to quantify the degree of angiogenesis induced by the b-FGF releasing hydrogel scaffolds. The left femoral artery of a mouse was ligated, excised and the gel scaffolds were implanted adjacent to the site of excision. LDPI scans were performed on days 7, 14, 21, and 28 following ligation, and the extent of angiogenesis was calculated by comparing the Doppler perfusion ratio of the treatment groups versus the non-ligated controls. b-FGF releasing hydrogels induced a pronounced angiogenic effect in comparison to control groups that lacked b-FGF. Moreover, the anionic, gelatin-PLG hydrogels, which had a higher degree of swelling at physiological pHs than the cationic, gelatin-PLL hydrogels, released about 30% more of b-FGF over a period of two weeks. Consequently, the gelatin-PLG gels induced the highest angiogenic effect with a Doppler perfusion ratio of 0.608 Ϯ0.0166 versus a ratio of 0.528 Ϯ0.0057 for the b-FGF releasing gelatin-PLL hydrogels (pϽ 0.001, Figure 1). The ease of preparing ionic hydrogels with tunable physical properties (i.e. charge density, swellability), could offer promising alternative strategies for the controlled delivery of angiogenic factors in ischemic regions.
aortic wall structure, which is associated with chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, degradation of the extracellular matrix, and thinning of the arterial media. Currently, no therapeutic drugs are available for AAA.Clinical practice guidelines by the European Society for Vascular Surgery state that previous studies support the importance of healthy diets 2) . Wolk et al. reported that a Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of AAA in smokers 3) . The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study revealed that dietary approaches to stop hypertension-style dietary patterns were associated with a lower risk of AAA 4) . Yamagishi et al. reported that people who seldom ate fish had a higher mortality from AAA 5) .
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