Water and solute permeability of membranes used in guided bone regeneration-An in vitro study

Nutrients diffusion through barrier membranes used in guided bone regeneration is much theorized but few data are available so far. In this study, direct measurement of the water and solute permeability coefficients of five commercial barrier membranes was performed and the results were correlated with scanning electron microscopy findings. First the hydraulic permeability was addressed in short (3 h) and extended periods (3 weeks) assays, then the membranes were further investigated for diffusion of selected solutes (glucose and NaCl). The collagen membrane had the highest initial water permeability, 10 times greater than the polylactide one, and 500 times greater than the expanded-PTFE one, all of which decreased significantly over the 3-weeks test period, whereas dense-PTFE membranes were both found impermeable, the results being positively correlated with solute permeability coefficients and convergent with the SEM findings.