Rétention prolongée de TGFβ1 par des hydrogels à base de dextrane fonctionnalisé : synthèse, caractérisation et évaluations biologiques

Due to a short half-life, growth factors, which could be used as therapeutic agents, usually require carriers able to protect their biological activity and to sustain protein delivery in situ. It was shown that water-soluble functionalized dextrans (DMCB) present some heparin-like properties, especially the capacity to interact with Heparin-Binding Growth Factors such as TGFβ₁. In this study, dextran-based hydrogels were synthesized by cross-linking a DMCB with native dextrans to develop a TGFβ₁ release carrier. In vivo, these hydrogels were demonstrated to be biocompatible and to allow good cell invasion. In vitro, functionalized hydrogels retained 50 to 60% of initially loaded growth factor contrary to unfunctionalized hydrogels. The degree of hydrogel functionalization did not influence the amount of entrapped growth factor. Nevertheless, it modulated the prominent type of interactions between TGFβ₁ and hydrogels.