Biodegradable Polymer Membranes Applied in Guided Bone/Tissue Regeneration: A Review

Abstract

Polymer membranes have been widely used in guided tissue regeneration (GTR) and guided bone regeneration (GBR). In this review, various commercially available membranes are described. Much attention is paid to the recent development of biodegradable polymers applied in GTR and GBR, and the important issues of biodegradable polymeric membranes, including their classification, latest experimental research and clinical applications, as well as their main challenges are addressed. Herein, natural polymers, synthetic polymers and their blends are all introduced. Pure polymer membranes are biodegradable and biocompatible, but they lack special properties such as antibacterial properties, osteoconductivity, and thus polymer membranes loaded with functional materials such as antibacterial agents and growth factors show many more advantages and have also been introduced in this review. Despite there still being complaints about polymer membranes, such as their low mechanical properties, uncontrollable degradation speed and some other drawbacks, these problems will undoubtedly be conquered and biodegradable polymers will have more applications in GTR and GBR.

Keywords: GBR; GTR; biodegradable polymer; collagen; membrane; polylactide.

Figure 1

Clinical photographs of the experimental sites: (a) A full-thickness flap was elevated, and the bone bed was prepared by perforating the cortical bone; (b) Assigned bone substitutes and membranes were applied. The left block is bovine hydroxyapatite incorporated into a non-cross-linked collagen matrix, and the right block is porcine hydroxyapatite incorporated into a cross-linked collagen matrix; (c) The bone substitutes were covered by the membranes (red arrow), which were stabilized using two pins (yellow arrow). Both membranes are cross-linked collagen membrane; (d) An occlusal view of the opposite side. The non-cross-linked collagen membrane is applied. Reprinted with permission from John Wiley and Sons [40].

Figure 2

The schematic process of fabricating PCL–PEG nanofibers embedded 3D scaffold by incorporating PCL–PEG nanofibrous mats (aligned or random) into porous chitosan scaffold. The optical image displays a representative section view of the scaffold with width of 103.38 ± 49.54 µm between layers. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier [109].

Figure 3

Schematic Representation of the Preparation of SCHB2-Thick and SCHB2-Thin Nanofibrous Membranes through Coaxial Electrospinning and Their Influence on human marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Reprinted with permission from American Chemical Society 2015 [140].