Fabrication of PLGA/HA (core)-collagen/amoxicillin (shell) nanofiber membranes through coaxial electrospinning for guided tissue regeneration

Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) membranes are key materials used to create barriers between soft and bone tissues during bone defect repair; however, single-function barrier GTR membranes cannot meet clinical requirements. In this paper, we propose a GTR membrane with drug release, bone guidance, and barrier functions; this membrane is a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/hydroxyapatite (HA) (core)-collagen/amoxicillin (shell) nanofiber membrane fabricated by coaxial electrospinning. The shell of each nanofiber is composed of collagen/amoxicillin to promote wound healing through drug release, and its core is composed of PLGA/HA to block fibroblast growth into bone defects and promote bone growth. The effects of collagen content in the shell spinning solution on drug release time are studied, and results show that the total release time of amoxicillin can reach 40 h when a shell spinning solution containing 4 wt% collagen is used. Mineralization occurs on the nanofiber membrane surface after 8 weeks of degradation, indicating the ability of the membrane to induce apatite deposition. Fibroblasts were also co-cultured on one side of the core/shell nanofiber membranes, and results showed that fibroblasts on the cultured side grew well; moreover, no fibroblasts were observed on the opposite side of the membrane after 48 h of culture. The barrier membrane developed in this work may be applied in the GTR of dental implants and orthopedic transplants.