Abstract Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) uses a barrier membrane to inhibit soft tissue growth into damaged areas. The test membrane represents a third-generation GTR membrane, composed of calcium alginate for controlled bioactive release and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) for antimicrobial activity. This study evaluated a novel calcium alginate–ZnO-NP membrane fabricated by electrospinning and compared its in vivo biocompatibility and biodegradation with a commercial SureDerm membrane. Fifty-four Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three groups: a sham control without membrane implantation (group A), a commercial SureDerm membrane (group B), and a calcium alginate–ZnO-NP-based membrane (group C). ZnO-NP were synthesized using a sol–gel method, and the test membrane was fabricated by electrospinning. Material characterization was conducted prior to implantation. Each membrane specimen (1 × 1 cm) was implanted subcutaneously into the dorsal region. The animals were sacrificed at 7, 21, and 63 days. Biodegradation was assessed macroscopically (visibility) and microscopically (degradation), while biocompatibility was evaluated microscopically, following ISO 10993-6 standards. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test to compare membrane visibility and degradation. The calcium alginate–ZnO-NP membrane demonstrated a tensile strength of 3.90 ± 0.23 MPa and an elastic modulus of 47.40 ± 7.42 MPa. Scanning electron microscope –energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed a homogenous surface morphology with evenly distributed ZnO-NP. Based on the biocompatibility testing, the test membrane had a similar irritancy score as SureDerm membrane, with an overall irritancy score of minimal/non-irritant. Macroscopic visibility assessments revealed a higher degradation rate in the test membrane compared to SureDerm (p <0.001), which was confirmed by microscopic evaluations (p <0.001). The electrospun calcium alginate and ZnO-NP-based GTR membrane demonstrated biocompatibility equivalent to the SureDerm membrane. However, its biodegradation properties differed, showing a faster but clinically favorable degradation rate than SureDerm. These findings support its potential as a third-generation GTR membrane for periodontal applications.
Widjaja et al. (Tue,) studied this question.