Functionalized Asymmetric Poly (Lactic Acid)/Gelatin Composite Membrane for Guided Periodontal Tissue Regeneration

Shuangying Gu,Weicong Chen,Baoxiang Tian,Yue Zhou

doi:10.4236/jbnb.2017.84016

Abstract

Aim: Periodontitis is caused by chronic gingival inflammation and affects a large population in the world. Although guided tissue regeneration (GTR) therapy has been proven to be an effective treatment, the deficiency in the symmetrical design of all the GTR membrane in the market leaves large space for improvement. Therefore, we designed a novel asymmetrical bi-layer PLA/gelatin composite membrane for treating periodontitis. Methods: The PLA side was fabricated by electrospinning with metronidazole (MNA) pre-mixed with the PLA solution. The gelatin side containing bioglass (BG) 45S5 was fabricated with freeze-drying process and cross-linked with PLA membrane. The bio-compatibility of the membrane was evaluated in vitro using NIH3T3 cells. The releasing of MNA was measured by spectrophotometer. The bioactivity of the membrane was evaluated by hydroxyapatite (HA) deposit and determined by FTIR spectrometer. The ionic concentration of Ca2+ and was measured by ICPOES. The expression of the osteogenesis makers was determined by qRT-PCR. Results: The bi-layer PLA/gelatin composite membrane is biocompatible and bioactive. The releasing of MNA can rapidly reach the anti-bacterial effective concentration. Interestingly, the incorporation of MNA modulated the degradation rate of PLA scaffold to meet the requirement of tissue regeneration. Meanwhile, the embedding of the BG powder in the gelatin porous layer provided a favorable Ca2+ and ion environment for the regeneration of the alveolar bone tissue. Conclusions: Taken together, this bi-layer GTR membrane is closer to the physiological structure of the periodontal. The addition of MNA and BG makes it more powerful in treating periodontitis. Moreover, this research provides an example of biomimetic design in fabricating biomaterial for clinical applications.

Highlights

Peridontitis is a chronic gingival inflammation that affects a worldwide population up to 90% [1]
Since the reparative potential of periodontium is extremely limited in adult teeth, the guided tissue regeneration (GTR) is required to induce the regenerative ability of the damaged tissue and the regeneration has to be in the form of both hard tissue and soft tissue
To seek better GTR membranes to treat peridontitis, one has to bear with the idea that: 1) Simplicity in fabrication is desirable and more practical to be translated into clinical application; 2) The membrane is asymmetrically designed to mimic the real tissue organization; 3) The membrane is preferred to be bio-degradable but the degradation rate has to be fine-tuned to sustain enough mechanical strength to provide enough support for the cells to grow in the scaffold

Summary

Introduction

Peridontitis is a chronic gingival inflammation that affects a worldwide population up to 90% [1]. To seek better GTR membranes to treat peridontitis, one has to bear with the idea that: 1) Simplicity in fabrication is desirable and more practical to be translated into clinical application; 2) The membrane is asymmetrically designed to mimic the real tissue organization; 3) The membrane is preferred to be bio-degradable but the degradation rate has to be fine-tuned to sustain enough mechanical strength to provide enough support for the cells to grow in the scaffold To test these ideas, we designed and fabricated an asymmetrical PLA/gelatin bi-layer composite membrane for treating periodontitis

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion