Layer-by-Layer assembled growth factor reservoirs for steering the response of 3T3-cells.

Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assemblies of heparin (Hep) and chitosan (Chi) were prepared for use as reservoirs for acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors (aFGFs and bFGFs, respectively). The effects of the architecture and composition of the reservoirs on the viability and proliferation of NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells were studied under starvation conditions. The reservoir stability was monitored by ellipsometry.