Incorporation of basic fibroblast growth factor by a layer-by-layer assembly technique to produce bioactive substrates.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was immobilized onto quartz slides and collagen films by assembly with chondroitin sulfate (CS) in a layer-by-layer (LBL) manner. First, the LBL-deposition process on the amino-silanized quartz slides was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy and water contact angle measurement. By substituting the normal bFGF with rhodamine-labeled one (Rd-bFGF), a linear increase of the absorbance versus bilayer number was recorded. The water contact angle oscillated between the odd CS and the even bFGF layers, demonstrating the alternating change of the surface chemistry. Scanning force microscopy (SFM) revealed that the surface topography was altered slightly after multilayer assembly. In vitro incubation of the CS/bFGF multilayers in PBS showed that approximately 30% of the incorporated bFGF was released within 8 days. In vitro cell culture found that the fibroblasts showed star-like morphology with plenty of pseudopods on the bFGF-incorporated collagen film after cultured for 1 day, and the collagen films assembled with bFGF possess improved bioactivity than that of the virgin one and the bFGF control. Since the immobilized growth factors can maximally retain their bioactivity, the LBL assembly would be a potential approach to construct a bioactive substrate for biomedical applications.