Effect of Gelatin Content on Degradation Behavior of PLLA/Gelatin Hybrid Membranes

Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a biodegradable polymer (BP) that replaces conventional petroleum-based polymers.  The hydrophobicity of biodegradable PLLA periodontal barrier membrane in wet state can be solved by alloying it with natural polymers. Alloying PLLA with gelatin imparts wet mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, shrinkage, degradability and biocompatibility to the polymeric matrix.

To investigate membrane performance in the wet state, PLLA/gelatin membranes were synthesized by varying the gelatin concentration from 0 to 80 wt%. The membrane was prepared by electrospinning.

At the macroscopic scale, PLLA containing gelatin can tune the wet mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, water uptake capacity (WUC), degradability and biocompatibility of PLLA/gelatin membranes. As the gelatin content increased from 0 to 80 wt%, the dry tensile strength of the membranes increased from 6.4 to 38.9 MPa and the dry strain at break decreased from 1.7 to 0.19. PLLA/gelatin membranes with a gelatin content exceeding 40% showed excellent biocompatibility and hydrophilicity. However, dimensional change (37.5% after 7 days of soaking), poor tensile stress  in wet state (3.48 MPa) and rapid degradation rate (73.7%) were observed. The highest WUC, hydrophilicity, porosity, suitable mechanical properties and biocompatibility were observed for the PLLA/40% gelatin membrane.

PLLA/gelatin membranes with gelatin content less than 40% are suitable as barrier membranes for absorbable periodontal tissue regeneration due to their tunable wet mechanical properties, degradability, biocompatibility and lack of dimensional changes.