We investigated the development of an injectable, biodegradable hydrogel composite of poly(trimethylene carbonate)-F127-poly(trimethylene carbonate)(PTMC11-F127-PTMC11)loaded with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) derived peptide P24 for ectopic bone formation in vivo and evaluated its release kinetics in vitro. Then we evaluated P24 peptide release kinetics from different concentration of PTMC11-F127-PTMC11 hydrogel in vitro using bicinchoninic acid (BCA)assay. P24/PTMC11-F127-PTMC11 hydrogel was implanted into each rat's erector muscle of spine and ectopic bone formation of the implanted gel in vivo was detected by hematoxylin and eosin stain (HE). PTMC11-F127-PTMC11 hydrogel with concentration more than 20 percent showed sustained slow release for one month after the initial burst release. Bone trabeculae surround the P24/PTMC11-F127-PTMC11 hydrogel was shown at the end of six weeks by hematoxylin and eosin stain. These results indicated that encapsulated bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2) derived peptide P24 remained viable in vivo, thus suggesting the potential of PTMC11-F127-PTMC11 composite hydrogels as part of a novel strategy for localized delivery of bioactive molecules.
