1 × 10−21J) suggests that a small amount of free PDGF is available for the initial burst release (Figure 5(c)). Upon the addition of heparin, ΔG is further reduced to −13.5 × 10−21J. As a result, the sustained release of PDGF is enhanced by including heparin into the fibers. Because heparin is an integrated part of the fibers, PDGF- or avidin-heparin complexes decrease Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical disassociation of proteins from the fibers, leading to a low rate of sustained release (i.e., low koff). In addition to ion

Crizotinib cell line pairing, fiber structure may affect the release kinetics of encapsulated molecules from fibers. Briganti et al. [15] electrospun PEtU-PDMS fibrous scaffolds, which were functionalized in fibrinogen solutions containing heparin and heparin-binding VEGF and bFGF. After the complete polymerization of fibrinogen, fibrin completely covered the PEtU-PDMS fibers, retaining heparin and the growth factors. The concentration of fibrinogen solutions, which were used to treat PEtU-PDMS fibers, influenced the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical fiber surface morphology and microstructure as well as the subsequent release of the growth factors. When the fibrinogen concentration increased Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical from 10mg/mL to 20mg/mL, the release rates of both VEGF and bFGF from the treated fibers decreased greatly. The model is used to illustrate the effects of fibrinogen concentrations and fiber microstructures on the release kinetics of both growth factors (Figure 5(d)). The model

reveals reduction in ΔG, as a result of an increase in fibrinogen concentration (Table 3). Therefore, changes Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in the fiber microarchitectures affect the ability of

heparin to retain the growth factors. When treated with fibrinogen solutions at the same concentration, the PEtU-PDMS fibers release bFGF slower than VEGF. This is likely due to the different binding capabilities of the growth factors with heparin and fibrin. The influences of fiber Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical structure on drug release are also analyzed in another case study (Figure 5(e)). Hong et al. [16] synthesized mesoporous bioactive glass hollow fibers (MBGHFs), which could encapsulate 7 times more drug than solid fibers. Interestingly, long (e.g., 5–10mm in length) MBGHF fragments released GS much slower than short (2–2.5mm) fragments. It is believed that the two open ends of a hollow fiber provided another route the for drug release in addition to the mesopores. This effect is more pronounced in short MBGHF fragments. Although the model does not explicitly include diffusion through the open ends of hollow fibers, its semiphenomenological nature allows it to capture drug release from hollow fibers. Moreover, the model suggests that shortening fragment length increases the effective rate constant of diffusion/convection kS (Table 3). This is due to the effects of additional diffusion routes via the ends. Consistently, ΔG that measures the strength of drug-fiber interaction also slightly increases.