Collagen Membranes: A Review

Abstract

Collagen materials have been utilized in medicine and dentistry because of their proven biocompatability and capability of promoting wound healing. For guided tissue regeneration (GTR) procedures, collagen membranes have been shown to be comparable to non-absorbable membranes with regard to probing depth reduction, clinical attachment gain, and percent of bone fill. Although these membranes are absorbable, collagen membranes have been demonstrated to prevent epithelial down-growth along the root surfaces during the early phase of wound healing. The use of grafting material in combination with collagen membranes seems to improve clinical outcomes for furcation, but not intrabony, defects when compared to the use of membranes alone. Recently, collagen materials have also been applied in guided bone regeneration (GBR) and root coverage procedures with comparable success rates to non-absorbable expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes and conventional subepithelial connective tissue grafts, respectively. Long-term clinical trials are still needed to further evaluate the benefits of collagen membranes in periodontal and peri-implant defects. This article will review the rationale for each indication and its related literature, both in vitro and in vivo studies. The properties that make collagen membranes attractive for use in regenerative therapy will be addressed. In addition, varieties of cross-linking techniques utilized to retard the degradation rate of collagen membranes will be discussed.

Growth factor delivery for oral and periodontal tissue engineering

“…In addition, the development of both naturally derived and synthetic materials allows the degradation properties to be controlled by the composition and ratios of compounds that comprise the material. A key advantage of this, particularly with more recently developed polymers, is that these properties can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the application with regard to how long one desires to have the material maintained [34,[41][42][43].…”

Guided bone regeneration using a hydrophilic membrane made of unsintered hydroxyapatite and poly(L-lactic acid) in a rat bone-defect model

“…Thus, resorbable GBR membranes are more desirable. Bovine or porcine collagen has been used as a material for resorbable GBR membranes 7,[14][15][16][17][18][19] ; however, although collagen is a highly biocompatible major matrix protein, the risk of infection with known or unknown diseases from the source animals cannot be completely eliminated, because of the physicochemically mild collagen extraction procedure [20][21][22] . An unfavorable immune reaction to the heterogeneous protein, although rare, is another concern regarding this material.…”

Physiochemical properties and resorption progress of porcine skin-derived collagen membranes: <i>In vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> analysis

“…: -connective tissue maturation during the late wound healing period 10) . Other studies have also reported that, if membrane resorption occurred before 4 weeks after implantation, bone and periodontal ligament cells could not fill the space beneath the barrier membrane 29) .…”

“…Collagen membranes have been widely investigated in animal studies and human clinical studies, and have demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and cell affinity 10,11) . These membranes differ according to their tissue of origin.…”

“…One key factor regarding collagen membranes used for GBR/GTR procedures is that the membrane must remain intact in the wound area for an adequate duration to prevent apical migration of the epithelium during the early healing phase. If the membrane dissolves quickly, treatment goals will not be achieved 10) . To decelerate resorption, various cross-linking techniques have been developed.…”