The membranes are especially suited for dental surgical interventions.Regeneration of bone tissues is much slower than the regeneration of other tissues, such as the epithelial. Consequently, after dental surgical interventions, the space in the treated areas where bone should grow can be invaded by other tissues, whose grow cannot be prevented. The technique named guided bone regeneration (GBR) tries to solve this problem by directing and inducing the formation of bone tissue during the healing processes.
At present, two types of membranes are used for the guided bone regeneration. On one hand, non-resorbable membranes, which require a second surgical intervention for their removal. On the other hand, there are synthetic resorbable membranes which usually provoke some reaction in the patient’s body due to their slow and non-well controlled degradation rates. These shortcomings justify the need of new membranes that overcome present restrictions and provide optimal conditions for cellular growth and bound healing.
The CSIC, in collaboration with the Andalusian Public Health System and the Universities of Seville and Cadiz, has developed a methodology to produce polymeric membranes, which are biodegradable and resorbable and, therefore, especially suited for facilitating guided bone regeneration.
The present invention provides a method to obtain polymeric biodegradable membranes that have a high flexibility in their design as well as resorbable at a controlled rate under physiological conditions. The invention includes also activation, via plasma, of this polymeric film and the deposition of an inorganic material on its surface.
The possibility of controlling both the plasma and the material to be deposited enable to get membranes “à la carte”
The activation process, carried out by exposing the polymeric film to plasma of oxygen or other mixtures of plasma gases, alters in a controlled way the chemical composition and the roughness of the first layers of the film. This contributes to accelerate the subsequent degradation of the polymer. In this way, the degradation rate can be controlled by varying the time of activation and the plasma conditions.
On the other hand, through a deposition process nanometric layers of active oxides are added to the membrane, which enhance its bioactivity and, therefore, its efficiency for the osseointegration between the implant and the surrounding bone.
The possibility of controlling both the plasma and the material to be deposited enable to get membranes “à la carte”, with a composition and structure fitted to specific needs. As an example, the combination of several simultaneous or successive deposition processes would provide films with mixed compositions.
Contact:
José Ramón Domínguez
Knowledge Transfer Manager
Tel.: (+34) 954232349 ext 158