The delivery of growth factors is important in regenerative therapies. These medium molar mass proteins are the key signalling molecules that initiate and control the production of viable tissue. In vivo many growth factors bind to the negatively charged glycosaminoglycan heparin and we consider that other charged polymers could perform the same function. With this in mind, core-shell particles have been prepared by surfactant-free emulsion polymerisations of butyl methacrylate in the presence of either linear or highly branched poly(acrylamidomethylpropane sulphonate)s (PAMPS) with dithioate end groups: using a �shell-first� approach. In a second system we produced core-shell particles with phosphate shells. Release of VEGF was shown to be controlled by the structure and swelling of the shell. Another approach is to produce devices that can bind endogenous heparin this we have achieved by preparing hydrogels that are functionalised with triargine peptides; arg-arg-arg is a simplified model of the heparin binding domains of growth factors. Figure 1 shows the release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) is controlled by the architecture of PAMPS-based shells.

Polymer colloids for the controlled elease of heparin binding growth factors

248th National Meeting (2014)

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