Dimensionally stable and bioactive membrane for guided bone regeneration: An in vitro study

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Guided bone regeneration (GBR) requires advanced biomaterials to facilitate bone defect repair.
• Current GBR membranes often lack optimal mechanical strength and cellular integration properties.
• Polymer-based scaffolds with bioactive components are being explored to improve GBR outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer composite fibrous electrospun membranes incorporating borate bioactive glass (BBG) for GBR applications.
• To evaluate the mechanical properties, stability, and in vitro biological performance of these novel membranes.

Main Methods:

• Composite membranes fabricated using poly(dl-lactide) (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with varying BBG content.
• Characterization via scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) for morphology and BBG incorporation.
• Mechanical testing (suture pullout), stability assessment (PBS incubation), and cell proliferation assays (preosteoblasts).

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of submicron fibrous membranes with uniformly distributed BBG particles.
• 10 wt% BBG incorporation significantly enhanced membrane strength (2.37 N mm) under hydration compared to Epiguide (1.06 N mm).
• BBG-containing membranes exhibited superior preosteoblast proliferation (6.4-fold increase) compared to BBG-free and commercial membranes.

Conclusions:

• Electrospun PLA:PCL membranes incorporating BBG can be synthesized with enhanced mechanical properties and stability.
• These BBG-enhanced membranes demonstrate improved in vitro osteogenic cell proliferation, indicating potential for GBR.
• The developed composite membranes represent a promising advancement for guided bone regeneration strategies.