Clinical evaluation of a bioresorbable membrane for hard tissue regeneration

Abstract

In the field of guided bone regeneration, biomedical engineering has been applied, more or less successfully, to the development of biodegradable and bioresorbable membranes whose chemical, physical, or mechanical properties, structure, or form permits active tissue integration of desirable cell types and tissue components. The employment of synthetic and naturally occurring polymers as well as sophisticated manufacturing technologies allow the design and fabrication of matrix configurations, so that the biophysical limitations for guided bone regeneration can be satisfied. The configuration of such a hybrid matrix can also be manipulated to vary the surface area available for cell attachment, as well as to optimize the exposure of the attached cells to nutrients. A bioresorbable membrane made of synthetic and natural polymers has been developed and manufactured. This innovative device concept has been applied as guided bone regeneration (GBR) membrane.