A novel visible light-curing chitosan-based hydrogel membrane for guided tissue regeneration

Inflammation and trauma destroy the tooth-supporting tissue, leading to the loss of oral function and the difficulty of denture restoration. Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) is a technique based on a barrier membrane designed to restrict soft tissue invasion and maintain the space for bone regeneration. This study examined a new formulation to prepare methacrylated carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS-MA) hydrogel as a barrier membrane that could be crosslinked under visible-light irradiation. This new CMCS-MA hydrogel showed fast light-curing, good biocompatibility, and could be degraded by lysozyme. Further, the physicochemical property, cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of the CMCS-MA hydrogels can be adjusted by varying the degree of substitution of methacrylic acid (DS) in a certain range. Thus, the biocompatible and biodegradable CMCS-MA hydrogels may have a promising application in periodontal tissue regeneration with convenience and flexibility.