Novel biodegradable polymeric microparticles for the localized delivery of differentiation agents in bone tissue engineering applications

[Excerpt] Growth and differentiation factors can be used to guide the biology in tissue engineering, ranging from promoting cell proliferation, to morphogenic activities initiating a cascade of events leading to tissue formation in vivo. Synthetic glucocorticoids (e.g. dexamethasone, DEX) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are particularly relevant in bone tissue engineering, as they are able to induce osteoblastic differentiation. In this work, starch-poly-e-caprolactone (SPCL) microparticles were developed as a matrix for the controlled release of DEX and BMP-2. The developed system was characterized in terms of morphology and size distribution. DEX and BMP-2 were entrapped into SPCL microparticles at different percentages. The loading and encapsulation efficiency, as well as their release profile, were evaluated by HPLC and ELISA quantification. [...]