Electrospun Patch Functionalized with Nanoparticles Allows for Spatiotemporal Release of VEGF and PDGF-BB Promoting In Vivo Neovascularization

The use of nanomaterials as carriers for the delivery of growth factors has been applied to a multitude of applications in tissue engineering. However, issues of toxicity, stability, and systemic effects of these platforms have yet to be fully understood, especially for cardiovascular applications. Here, we proposed a delivery system composed of poly(dl-lactide- co-glycolide) acid (PLGA) and porous silica nanoparticles (pSi) to deliver vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). The tight spatiotemporal release of these two proteins has been proven to promote neovascularization. In order to minimize tissue toxicity, localize the release, and maintain a stable platform, we conjugated two formulations of PLGA-pSi to electrospun (ES) gelatin to create a combined ES patch releasing both PDGF and VEGF. When compared to freely dispersed particles, the ES patch cultured in vitro with neonatal cardiac cells had significantly less particle internalization (2.0 ± 1.3%) compared to free PLGA-pSi (21.5 ± 6.1) or pSi (28.7 ± 2.5) groups. Internalization was positively correlated to late-stage apoptosis with PLGA-pSi and pSi groups having increased apoptosis compared to the untreated group. When implanted subcutaneously, the ES patch was shown to have greater neovascularization than controls evidenced by increased expression of α-SMA and CD31 after 21 days. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results support increased angiogenesis by the upregulation of VEGFA, VEGFR2, vWF, and COL3A1, exhibiting a synergistic effect with the release of VEGF-A164 and PDGF-BB after 21 days in vivo. The results of this study proved that the ES patch reduced cellular toxicity and may be tailored to have a dual release of growth factors promoting localized neovascularization.