Organic/inorganic composite membranes based on poly(L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) and mesoporous silica for effective bone tissue engineering.

Fabrication of membranes with excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity remains an important technical challenge in bone tissue engineering. In this paper, poly(l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-SBA15 (Santa Barbara Amorphous 15) composite membranes were prepared by using an electrospinning technique; PLGA was used as a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer and SBA15 was used as a mesoporous silica. The PLGA-SBA15 composite membrane facilitates the cell attachment and the cell proliferation versus pure PLGA membrane where human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were seeded. Furthermore, the analysis of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity indicated that this PLGA-SBA15 composite membrane has better osteogenic induction compared with the pure PLGA membrane. Moreover, the presence of SBA15 increased the loading efficiency of the recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) to the membranes. Furthermore, the composite membrane had optimized sustained release of rhBMP-2. Overall, this PLGA-SBA15 composite is an excellent material for bone tissue engineering.