Abstract：Objective To investigate the structure and physicochemical properties of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) heparinized hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphate (HA-TCP) gelatin scaffold, and to evaluate its effect on the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC).Methods Heparin was combined with HA-TCP gelatin scaffold to detect the physical structure and mechanical properties of the scaffold. To preliminarily evaluate the performance of heparinized HA-TCP gelatin scaffolds with different heparin concentrations, water absorption, VEGF loading, antibacterial ability and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) growth were analyzed.Results The VEGF-loaded heparinized HA-TCP gelatin scaffold was pale yellow, with abundant pores (from 100 to 400μm), the specific surface area was 1.01±0.06 m2/g, the average mesoporous size was 25.96 nm, the elastic modulus was 0.93 MPa, and the maximum compressive strength was 2.40 MPa. There was no significant difference in the water absorption rate of HA-TCP gelatin scaffold among the three groups. The heparinized scaffold group had better VEGF binding and sustained release ability than the blank scaffold group (P<0.05), and the high heparin group could maintain the VEGF activity concentration and antibacterial ability longer than the low heparin group (P<0.05). BMSCs were distributed in sheets and islands on the scaffold. The cell proliferation activity of the heparinized scaffold group was significantly stronger than that of the blank group (P<0.05), and more calcium nodules were generated.Conclusions VEGF-loaded heparinized HA-TCP gelatin scaffold is characterized by good physical and chemical properties, and heparinization can improve the VEGF loading and releasing ability, bacteriostatic ability, and promote the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, which is a promising bone tissue engineering material.
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