Biodegradable films and sponges of poly(depsipeptide-co-lactide)s with two reactive side-chain groups, poly[(Glc-Asp)-co-LA] and poly[(Glc-Lys)-co-LA], were prepared with entrapped growth factors (bFGF, EGF, and NGF) or models for these growth factors (lysozyme, insulin and lactoferrin) based on their physicochemical similarities. These films and sponges were prepared to evaluate the potential utility of these copolymers as biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering. Sustained release of the model proteins from the biodegradable matrices was observed. The cell growth rates on the growth factor-loaded matrices were higher than on those without growth factors and were at the same level as with the addition of native growth factors. The effective differentiation of PC12 cells into nerve-like cells were observed on NGF-loaded copolymer film. These results indicate that the released growth factors maintained their activity and that these copolymers would be good candidates for scaffolds for tissue engineering. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.