Open AccessGelatin device for the delivery of growth factors involved in endochondral ossification
Author(s) -
Lucas Ahrens,
Daniel Vonwil,
Jon Christensen,
V. Prasad Shastri
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0175095
Subject(s) - endochondral ossification , gelatin , drug delivery , cartilage , controlled release , microbiology and biotechnology , ossification , tissue engineering , chemistry , delivery system , nanotechnology , biophysics , biomedical engineering , biology , materials science , biochemistry , anatomy , pharmacology , medicine
Controlled release drug delivery systems are well established as oral and implantable dosage forms. However, the controlled release paradigm can also be used to present complex soluble signals responsible for cellular organization during development. Endochondral ossification (EO), the developmental process of bone formation from a cartilage matrix is controlled by several soluble signals with distinct functions that vary in structure, molecular weight and stability. This makes delivering them from a single vehicle rather challenging. Herein, a gelatin-based delivery system suitable for the delivery of small molecules as well as recombinant human (rh) proteins (rhWNT3A, rhFGF2, rhVEGF, rhBMP4) is reported. The release behavior and biological activity of the released molecules was validated using analytical and biological assays, including cell reporter systems. The simplicity of fabrication of the gelatin device should foster its adaptation by the diverse scientific community interested in interrogating developmental processes, in vivo .