A simple way of modulating in vitro angiogenic response using Cu and Co-doped bioactive glasses

The copper and cobalt-doped bioactive glasses (BGs) from the basic SiO2-CaO-P2O5 system, differing in the CaO/SiO2 molar ratios, were produced using sol-gel method. The in vitro angiogenic response of human fibroblasts and umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on Cu-BGs and Co-BGs was investigated. The incorporation of Cu and Co into BGs significantly enhanced vascular endothelial growth factor secretion from fibroblasts. Cu-BGs and Co-BGs extracts might facilitate the migration of HUVECs and the self-assembled network formation after 3 days of culture without basement membrane matrix, demonstrating strong angiogenic activity. The results show that cellular response was correlated with Cu and Co release rate which, in turn, was affected by the CaO/SiO2 molar ratios, indicating new opportunities for controlling the release rate of therapeutic ions from BGs.