Silk Fibroin Nanoparticles Functionalized with Fibronectin for Release of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor to Enhance Angiogenesis

Abstract

This work aimed at enhancing the angiogenesis in the presence of silk fibroin nanoparticles functionalized with fibronectin (FN-SF NPs) for controlled release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The FN-SF NP samples were synthesized via the desolvation method and then VEGF was encapsulated into them. The physicochemical properties of the VEGF-loaded FN-SF NPs were evaluated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results showed the spherical morphology, size of ~90 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.21, and the presence of a characteristic peak in 1063 cm−1 owing to functionalizing between SF NPs and FN. Afterward, the VEGF release from the SF NPs with and without FN functionalization was carried out utilizing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the outcomes revealed that the FN-SF NPs have slower VEGF release than that of unfunctionalized sample with difference of approximately 10%. Eventually, the bioactivity of VEGF released from SF NPs, and FN-SF NPs was assessed using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) culture and the results exhibited a remarkable increase of their proliferation on FN-SF NPs owing to the presence of VEGF even after 10 days.

Keywords

• angiogenesis
• silk fibroin
• nanoparticle
• fibronectin
• vascular endothelial growth factor
• controlled release
• proliferation