Effect of Poly (Lactic Acid/ε-Caprolactone) Bilayer Membrane on Tooth Extraction Socket Wound Healing in a Rat Model

Guided bone regeneration membranes are essential for bone formation. While non-resorbable membranes re-quire removal surgery, resorbable membranes such as poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) PLGA are widely used, but has issues with animal-derived components and degradation control. A novel bilayer membrane composed of synthetic poly (L-lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone) (PBM) was developed, offering prolonged degradability and elasticity. This study compared the wound healing effects of PBM and PLGA membranes in vivo and in vitro experiments. PLGA and PBM membranes were assessed. In vivo, maxillary molars of rats were extracted, and membranes were placed over the sockets. Healing was evaluated histologically at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 weeks. In vitro, oral epithelial cells and fibroblasts were seeded on both sides of each membrane. Adhesion and permeability of membranes were assessed. In vivo, both groups displayed similar mucosal healing. However, PBM preserved a clear bone-soft tissue boundary. In vitro, PBM supported significantly greater oral epithelial cells adhesion and higher expression of adhesion proteins compared to PLGA, with no differences for fibroblasts. PBM maintained distinct bone-soft tissue separation in rat extraction sockets, suggesting its potential as an effective space maintainer in guided bone regeneration. Further studies are warranted to investigate the mechanisms under-lying these favorable properties.