Engineered (hep/pARG)2polyelectrolyte capsules for sustained release of bioactive TGF-β1

Abstract

Spatial and temporal controlled delivery of growth factors which contribute to efficient repair upon tissue injury or failure remains a major challenge in tissue engineering. In this paper, we evaluated polyelectrolyte multilayer microcapsules to control spatiotemporal release of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Polyelectrolyte microcapsules were bio-specifically engineered to enhance their ability to bind growth factors. Myofibroblast differentiation and contraction demonstrated that the bioactivity of TGF-β1 was not altered upon encapsulation into polyelectrolyte multilayer microcapsules and subsequent incorporation into gelatin based hydrogels. Finally, polyelectrolyte microcapsules were incorporated within a synthetic tissue engineering cryogel scaffold composed of gelatin without affecting the cryogel morphology, cell population capacity or mechanical properties of the scaffold.