A multifunctional electrowritten bi-layered scaffold for guided bone regeneration

The guided bone regeneration (GBR) concept has been extensively utilized to treat maxillofacial bone defects in clinical practice. However, the repair efficacy of currently available GBR membranes is often compromised by their limited bone regeneration potential and deficient antibacterial activity. In this study, inspired by the bi-layered structure design of the commonly used Bio-GideⓇmembrane, we designed and fabricated a new kind of multifunctional bi-layered “GBR scaffold” combining solution electrospinning writing (SEW) and solution electrospinning (SES) techniques using a single SEW printer. Copper-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles ([email protected]) were incorporated into the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/gelatin (PLGA/Gel, denoted as PG) fiber matrix to construct a composite [email protected] fibrous scaffold. The obtained GBR scaffold consisted of a loose and porous SEW layer to support and facilitate bone ingrowth, and a dense and compact SES layer to resist non-osteoblast interference. The resulting enhanced mechanical properties, coordinated degradation profile, and facile preparation procedure imparted the composite scaffold with good clinical feasibility. In vitro biological experiments indicate that the [email protected] composite scaffold exhibited favorable osteogenic and antibacterial properties. Furthermore, an in vivo rat periodontal defect model further confirmed the promising bone regeneration efficacy of the [email protected] scaffold. In conclusion, the developed electrowritten [email protected] bi-layered scaffold with hierarchical architecture and concurrent osteogenic and antibacterial functions may hold great potential for application in GBR.