Tetracycline-loaded Electrospun Poly(L-lactideco--caprolactone) Membranes for One-step Periodontal Treatment

In this research, a one-step periodontal membrane, with the required function and properties has been designed as an alternative method of tissue regenerative treatments. Designed nanoporous prototypes from poly(L-lactide-co--caprolactone) (PLCL, 70:30 mol%) were fabricated by electrospinning, denoted as S-PLCL. They were subsequently loaded with tetracycline (TC) in order to enhance periodontal regeneration and deliver an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drug. It was found that TC loading did not have any significant effect on the fiber diameter but did increase hydrophilicity. With increasing TC loading, the water vapor permeability (WVP) of the S-PLCL membrane decreased within the range of 31 - 56% when compared with neat S-PLCL membranes, while in the solvent-cast film (F-PLCL) no significant change in WVP was observed. Moreover, S-PLCL demonstrated a controllable slow release rate of TC. S-PLCL loaded with 1,500 µg/ml of TC showed a release concentration of 30 ppm over a certain time period to promote greater levels of human oral fibroblast (HOF) and human oral keratinocyte (HOK) cell proliferation and plaque inhibition. In conclusion, a TC-loaded S-PLCL fibrous membrane has been designed and fabricated to provide the ideal conditions for cell proliferation and antibiotic activity during treatment, outperforming non-fibrous FPLCL loaded with TC at the same concentration.