Lim Tee Yong, Poh Chye Khoon, Wang W
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore, Singapore.
J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2009 Aug;20(8):1669-75. doi: 10.1007/s10856-009-3727-z. Epub 2009 Mar 13.
Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a biodegradable polymer used to make resorbable sutures, and is also used in other applications in tissue engineering. Being an artificial polymer, its degradation rate can be tailored to suit its application. It can be easily moulded into structures with suitable mechanical strength and degrades into relatively harmless products in the body. Its adjustable degradation rate also makes it a potentially excellent controlled release delivery device. However, the functionalization of PLGA with bioactive molecules usually requires extensive chemical modification. Chemical modification may compromise the mechanical strength of PLGA and inactivate the bioactive molecules. In this paper, a study is done to investigate the coating of an angiogenic factor on unmodified PLGA suture substrates for the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) into endothelial cells (EC). The results show that the method used to anchor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) onto the PLGA surface can enable the gradual release of VEGF from the substrate into solution to induce the differentiation of hMSCs into ECs. Thus, this method can potentially be used to coat PLGA materials like sutures, meshes and scaffolds, rendering them functional as effective controlled release delivery devices for a wide range of bioactive molecules.
聚乳酸-乙醇酸共聚物（PLGA）是一种可生物降解的聚合物，用于制造可吸收缝线，也用于组织工程的其他应用中。作为一种人工聚合物，其降解速率可以进行调整以适应其应用。它可以很容易地模塑成具有合适机械强度的结构，并在体内降解为相对无害的产物。其可调节的降解速率也使其成为一种潜在的优秀控释递送装置。然而，用生物活性分子对PLGA进行功能化通常需要广泛的化学修饰。化学修饰可能会损害PLGA的机械强度并使生物活性分子失活。在本文中，开展了一项研究，以研究在未修饰的PLGA缝线基质上包被血管生成因子，用于将人间充质干细胞（hMSC）分化为内皮细胞（EC）。结果表明，将血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）锚定到PLGA表面的方法能够使VEGF从基质中逐渐释放到溶液中，从而诱导hMSC分化为EC。因此，这种方法有可能用于包被缝线、网片和支架等PLGA材料，使其成为适用于多种生物活性分子的有效控释递送装置。
