Review Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Delivery Systems for Cardiac Repair: An

licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Reproduction is permitted for personal, noncommercial use, provided that the article is in whole, unmodified, and properly cited. Received: 2011.10.21; Accepted: 2011.12.23; Published: 2012.06.04 Since the discovery of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and its leading role in the angiogenic process, this has been seen as a promising molecule for promoting neovas-cularization in the infarcted heart. However, even though several clinical trials were initiated, no therapeutic effects were observed, due in part to the short half life of this factor when administered directly to the tissue. In this context, drug delivery systems appear to offer a promising strategy to overcome limitations in clinical trials of VEGF. The aim of this paper is to review the principal drug delivery systems that have been de-veloped to administer VEGF in cardiovascular disease. Studies published in the last 5 years are reviewed and the main features of these systems are explained. The tissue engineerin