Peptide-Modified Nano-Bioactive Glass for Targeted Immobilization of Native VEGF
M. Schumacher, Pamela Habibović, Sabine van Rijt
Abstract
in its native state on the surface of nanosized bioactive glass particles (nBGs) via a binding peptide (PR1P). We demonstrate that covalent coupling of the peptide to amine functional groups grafted on the nBG surface allows immobilization of VEGF with high efficiency and specificity. The amount of coupled peptide could be controlled by varying amine density, which eventually allows tailoring the amount of bound VEGF within a physiologically effective range. In vitro analysis of endothelial cell tube formation in response to VEGF-carrying nBG confirmed that the biological activity of VEGF is not compromised by the immobilization. Instead, comparable angiogenic stimulation was found for lower doses of immobilized VEGF compared to exogenously added VEGF. The described system, for the first time, employs a binding peptide for growth factor immobilization on bioactive glass nanoparticles and represents a promising strategy to overcome the problem of insufficient neovascularization in large bone defect regeneration.