Amphiphilic Nucleating Agents to Enhance Calcium Phosphate Growth on Polymeric Surfaces.

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) is an aliphatic polyester widely explored in the preparation of guided bone regeneration (GBR) membranes because of its interesting mechanical properties and biodegradability. However, PCL high hydrophobicity often impairs cell adhesion and proliferation as well as calcium phosphate growth, all of which are crucial to achieving suitable bone-tissue integration. In this work, aimed at achieving less-hydrophobic surfaces, amphiphilic molecules were added at low concentrations to the polymeric dope solutions that generated the GBR membranes.