Fig. 1.

Basic characteristics of NMPs loaded with GDF-5 plasmid

(a) The morphology of microspheres as shown by scanning electron microscopy (×25 000, bar=1 μm); (b) Agarose electrophoresis gel showing the encapsulation of the plasmid in microspheres; (c) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) test of nano-microspheres (NMPs); (d) The plasmid release in phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) (pH 7.4). Data are expressed as mean±standard deviation (SD) (n=3). CS: chitosan; HA: hyaluronic acid sodium; CHS: chondroitin sulfate