In this study the w/o/w extraction–evaporation technique was adopted to prepare poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres loading recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF). The micro-spheres were characterized for morphology by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and particle size distribution. The release performances, the proliferation effects and therapeutic effects of rhEGF-loaded PLGA microspheres were all studied. The results showed that these spherical micro-spheres had a narrow size distribution and a high drug encapsulation efficiency (85.6%). RhEGF-loaded microspheres enhanced the growth rate of fibroblasts and wound healing more efficiently than pure rhEGF. The number of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the epidermis layer with the mi-crosphere treatment was significantly larger than those of the control groups. Overall locally sustained delivery of rhEGF from biodegradable PLGA microspheres may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for diabetic ulcer repair.
DONG XiaoQing1, XU Jun2, WANG WeiCai1, Luo Hao1, LIANG XiaoFei1, Zhang Lei1, Wang HanJie1, Wang PengHua2 & CHANG Jin1 1 Institute of Nanobiotechnology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
