Star-Shaped, Biodegradable, and Elastomeric PLLA-PEG-POSS Hybrid Membrane with Biomineralization Activity for Guiding Bone Tissue Regeneration

Multi-armed biodegradable polymers have attracted much attention in biomedical applications, due to their special structure and properties. However, multi-armed organic-inorganic hybrids with high mechanical properties and biomineralization activity have not been reported yet. Here, star-shaped poly-L-lactide-poly (ethylene glycol)-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (SPPS) hybrid membranes are fabricated for the first time for guiding bone regeneration applications by a photo-crosslinking method using inositol as a core. SPPS demonstrates tunable mechanical properties (5.8 ± 0.2μ130 ± 23 MPa in tensile modulus, 30 ± 6%μ144 ± 13% in elongation, beyond 90% recovery), biodegradation, biomineralization activity and good osteoblast biocompatibility. These results suggest that our hybrids membrane may have promising applications in guiding bone regeneration.