The potential of surface covalently bonded rhBMP-2 biodegradable chitosan membrane was examined for guided tissue regeneration (GTR) applications. A chitosan surface-bonded rhBMP-2 membrane was produced via amide bond formation between chitosan and rhBMP-2 using EDC/NHS as the catalyst. The chitosan surface-bonded rhBMP-2 membrane retained more than 70% of the initial rhBMP-2 after 4 weeks of incubation, whereas the chitosan surface-adsorbed rhBMP-2 membrane retained only 30%. The surface-bonded rhBMP-2 did not denature, but expressed sustained biological activity, such as osteoblast cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. X-ray images and histology of an in vivo segmental bone defect rabbit model showed that the chitosan surface-bonded rhBMP-2 membrane induced new bone formation. The chitosan surface-bonded rhBMP-2 membrane has the potential as a bioactive material for GTR.

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