Development of VEGF-loaded PLGA matrices in association with mesenchymal stem cells for tissue engineering

Abstract

The association of bioactive molecules, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), with nanofibers facilitates their controlled release, which could contribute to cellular migration and differentiation in tissue regeneration. In this research, the influence of their incorporation on a polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) scaffold produced by electrospinning on cell adhesion and viability and cytotoxicity was carried out in three groups: 1) PLGA/BSA/VEGF; 2) PLGA/BSA, and 3) PLGA. Morphology, fiber diameter, contact angle, loading efficiency and controlled release of VEGF of the biomaterials, among others, were measured. The nanofibers showed smooth surfaces without beads and with interconnected pores. PLGA/BSA/VEGF showed the smallest water contact angle and VEGF released for up to 160 h. An improvement in cell adhesion was observed for the PLGA/BSA/VEGF scaffolds compared to the other groups and the scaffolds were non-toxic for the cells. Therefore, the scaffolds were shown to be a good strategy for sustained delivery of VEGF and may be a useful tool for tissue engineering.

Electrospun Biomimetic Nanofibrous Scaffolds: A Promising Prospect for Bone Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

“…In mouse femur fractures, VEGF can improve blood vessel production, ossification, and new bone (callus) maturation, as well as increase bony bridging of a rabbit radius segmental gap defect. Rosa and co-workers demonstrated that scaffolds made of PLGA/BSA/VEGF increased cell adherence and were innocuous to cells [ 223 ]. Table 3 contains an overview of the literature reviewed in this section.…”

Vascular Tissue Engineering: Polymers and Methodologies for Small Caliber Vascular Grafts

“…These limitations can be reduced through the association of growth factors or other bioactive molecules with the scaffolds ( 46 , 47 ). The scaffolds developed by electrospinning can be associated with biomolecules in different ways, for example, emulsion electrospinning ( 48 ), post-electrospinning immobilization, coaxial electrospinning, emulsion electrospinning, and direct blending. The electrospinning technique, as with drug carriers, provides high load capacity, high encapsulation efficiency, ease of operation, and cost-effectiveness, which are attractive features for associating with drugs ( 49 ).…”

Ex vivo engineering of blood and lymphatic microvascular networks

“…These types of scaffolds have a high degree of biocompatibility and provide superior adhesion sites leading to improved growth and differentiation capability of the cells (17). Since both types of materials -natural and synthetic -can be fine-tuned with high precision, they are also utilized to deliver different proangiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for the recruitment of EC (18,19). Nevertheless, natural scaffolds represent the predominant type used due to their physiological characteristics resulting in improved cellular functions (20).…”