Local delivery of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) using adsorbed silyl-heparin, benzyl-bis(dimethylsilylmethyl) oxycarbamoyl-heparin

A growth factor delivery system was developed that is based on the use of silyl-heparin, a chemically modified analogue of heparin. The silyl-heparin was adsorbed onto surfaces by hydrophobic interaction via the prosthetic unit and can then be used as a solid-phase adsorbent for bFGF. All the coating steps were performed by adsorption, a process that allowed preparation of surfaces by immersion or "dip-coating". In this study a series of silyl-heparins were synthesized and each of the analogues found to function similar to unmodified heparin relative to their binding of antithrombin III and also the binding of bFGF. The silyl-heparins were found to be adsorbed onto a wide variety of substrates including polystyrene and lactide:glycolide copolymer. Enzyme-linked immumosorbant assay (ELISA) was used to establish that bFGF was readily bound to surface adsorbed silyl-heparin, and that the amount bound was directly related to amount offered for binding. Once adsorbed the silyl-heparin/FGF was able to induce capillary tube formation of endothelial cells and to increase the growth of endothelial cells. When coated onto suture material and implanted in muscle, the FGF/silyl-heparin coating caused an increased density of mesenchymal cells in the area of the implant. This coating method could prove to be useful in a number of tissue engineering applications for the local delivery of FGF and other growth factors.