Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels

Objectives: Vascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death. Due to minimal regenerative capability of the heart, alternative therapies have been sought after with engineered biomaterials being extensively investigated in this area. In this study, enzymatically degradable heparinised polyet...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chokoza, Cindy
Other Authors: Davies, Neil
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Human Biology 2017
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613342362763265
access_status_str Open Access
author Chokoza, Cindy
author2 Davies, Neil
author_browse Chokoza, Cindy
Davies, Neil
author_facet Davies, Neil
Chokoza, Cindy
author_sort Chokoza, Cindy
collection Thesis
description Objectives: Vascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death. Due to minimal regenerative capability of the heart, alternative therapies have been sought after with engineered biomaterials being extensively investigated in this area. In this study, enzymatically degradable heparinised polyethylene glycol (PEG-Hep) hydrogels were synthesized and characterised for the binding and controlled release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), as well as their bioactivity and angiogenic potential in vivo. Methodology: VEGF and bFGF were combined into 4% (m/v) PEG-Hep hydrogels. The binding and release rates of VEGF and BFGF were analysed via an immunosorbent assay. Released growth factor bioactivity was measured using an XTT metabolic assay on human saphenous vein endothelial cells and human dermal fibroblasts. Neovascularisation was quantified in a subcutaneous rat angiogenesis model in which hydrogel growth factor combinations were implanted within porous polyurethane discs and analysed after a 4 week period. A novel hybrid hydrogel able to degrade proteolytically and hydrolytically was further developed, characterised and analysed as above. Results: PEG-Hep hydrogels demonstrated substantial growth factor binding ability (500-600 ng) and allowed sustained release (10-20 ng/day) for up to 28 days. Bioactivity of the growth factors was retained throughout the release period. The degradation rate of the hydrogels could be controlled in vivo by varying the ratio of monomers capable of forming either hydrolytically or proteolytically degradable crosslinks. Qualitative and quantitative analysis demonstrated a pronounced and significant angiogenic response in vivo (p<0.05). Conclusion: Heparinised PEG hydrogels show significant promise as controlled release vehicles for growth factors and warrant further examination in a myocardial infarction model.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24891
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:34:36.552Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2017
publishDateRange 2017
publishDateSort 2017
publisher Department of Human Biology
publisherStr Department of Human Biology
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24891 Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels Chokoza, Cindy Davies, Neil Bezuidenhout, Deon Biomaterials Objectives: Vascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death. Due to minimal regenerative capability of the heart, alternative therapies have been sought after with engineered biomaterials being extensively investigated in this area. In this study, enzymatically degradable heparinised polyethylene glycol (PEG-Hep) hydrogels were synthesized and characterised for the binding and controlled release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), as well as their bioactivity and angiogenic potential in vivo. Methodology: VEGF and bFGF were combined into 4% (m/v) PEG-Hep hydrogels. The binding and release rates of VEGF and BFGF were analysed via an immunosorbent assay. Released growth factor bioactivity was measured using an XTT metabolic assay on human saphenous vein endothelial cells and human dermal fibroblasts. Neovascularisation was quantified in a subcutaneous rat angiogenesis model in which hydrogel growth factor combinations were implanted within porous polyurethane discs and analysed after a 4 week period. A novel hybrid hydrogel able to degrade proteolytically and hydrolytically was further developed, characterised and analysed as above. Results: PEG-Hep hydrogels demonstrated substantial growth factor binding ability (500-600 ng) and allowed sustained release (10-20 ng/day) for up to 28 days. Bioactivity of the growth factors was retained throughout the release period. The degradation rate of the hydrogels could be controlled in vivo by varying the ratio of monomers capable of forming either hydrolytically or proteolytically degradable crosslinks. Qualitative and quantitative analysis demonstrated a pronounced and significant angiogenic response in vivo (p<0.05). Conclusion: Heparinised PEG hydrogels show significant promise as controlled release vehicles for growth factors and warrant further examination in a myocardial infarction model. 2017-08-17T14:15:34Z 2017-08-17T14:15:34Z 2017 Master Thesis Masters MSc (Med) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24891 eng application/pdf Department of Human Biology Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Biomaterials
Chokoza, Cindy
Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels
title_full Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels
title_fullStr Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels
title_full_unstemmed Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels
title_short Stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels
title_sort stimulation of angiogenesis through growth factor delivery from synthetic heparinised hydrogels
topic Biomaterials
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24891
work_keys_str_mv AT chokozacindy stimulationofangiogenesisthroughgrowthfactordeliveryfromsyntheticheparinisedhydrogels