Electrospun poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) /Octacalcium phosphate Nanofibrous membranes for effective guided bone regeneration

Abstract Membranes used in guided bone regeneration (GBR) are required to exhibit high mechanical strength, biocompatibility, biodegradation, osteogenic and osteoinductive potential. In our study, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate)(P(3HB-co-4HB))/octacalcium phosphate (OCP) (P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP) nanofibrous membranes were fabricated by electrospinning with two different P(3HB-co-4HB) to OCP ratios (P(3HB-co-4HB):OCP = 95:5 wt% and 90:10 wt%, termed P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP (Lee et al., 2009 [ 5 ]) and P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP (Rodriguez-Contreras, 2019 [ 10 ]), respectively) for GBR. The developed P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP nanofibrous membranes were analysed for their osteogenic and osteoinductive properties using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro and in a calvarial bone defect rat model. The composite P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP nanofibrous membranes showed decreased fibre size and enhanced tensile strength compared with those of P(3HB-co-4HB) nanofibrous membranes. In the in vitro studies, the P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP membranes facilitated cell growth and osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs and were superior to P(3HB-co-4HB) membranes. After covered on the calvarial bone defects, P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP membranes facilitated greater neobone formation than P(3HB-co-4HB) membranes did, as the result of histological evaluation and micro-CT analysis with higher bone volume/total volume (BV/TV) ratio and bone mineral density (BMD). P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP (Rodriguez-Contreras, 2019 [ 10 ]) membranes with higher OCP content showed greater stiffness and osteoinductivity than P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP (Lee et al., 2009 [ 5 ]) membranes, demonstrating the role of OCP in the composite membranes. These results indicated that electrospun P(3HB-co-4HB)/OCP nanofibrous membranes hold promise for the clinical application of GBR.