Scalable Fabrication of Porous Membrane Incorporating Human Extracellular Matrix-like Collagen for Guided Bone Regeneration

Abstract

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) is an extensively used technique for the treatment of maxillofacial bone defects and bone mass deficiency in clinical practice. However, the majority of researches on membrane for GBR did not achieve the combination of suitable properties and cost control issues associated with membrane production. Herein, we developed a polycaprolactone/human extracellular matrix-like collagen (PCL/hCol) membrane with asymmetric porous structure via nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method, a highly efficient procedure with simple operation, scalable fabrication and low cost. This membrane presented porous on the rough surface conductive to cell attachment and proliferation for guiding osteogenesis, while a relatively smooth surface, with micropores allowing nutrient passage, adverse to the adhesion of cells for preventing fibroblast invasion, meeting the demands of GBR. Besides, we evaluated the membrane characteristics and biological properties and compared it with commercially available membranes. Results showed that the PCL/hCol membrane exhibited excellent mechanical properties, degradation characteristics, barrier function, biocompatibility and osteoinductive potential. Furthermore, our in vivo study demonstrated the promotive effect of PCL/hCol membrane on bone formation in rat calvarial defects. Taken together, our NIPS-prepared PCL/hCol membrane with promising properties and production advantages offers a new perspective for the development and potential usage in GBR application.