The Osteogenic Role of Barium Titanate/Polylactic Acid Piezoelectric Composite Membranes as Guiding Membranes for Bone Tissue Regeneration.

Purpose: Biopiezoelectric materials have good biocompatibility and excellent piezoelectric properties, and they can generate local currents in vivo to restore the physiological electrical microenvironment of the defect and promote bone regeneration. Previous studies of guided bone regeneration membranes have rarely addressed the point of restoring it, so this study prepared a Barium titanate/Polylactic acid (BT/PLA) piezoelectric composite membrane and investigated its bone-formation, with a view to providing an experimental basis for clinical studies of guided bone tissue regeneration membranes. Methods: BT/PLA composite membranes with different BT ratio were prepared by solution casting method, and piezoelectric properties were performed after corona polarization treatment. The optimal BT ratio was selected and then subjected to in vitro cytological experiments and in vivo osteogenic studies in rats. The effects on adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of the pre-osteoblastic cell line (MC3T3-E1) were investigated. The effect of composite membranes on bone repair of cranial defects in rats was investigated after 4 and 12 weeks. Results: The highest piezoelectric coefficient d33 were obtained when the BT content was 20%, reaching (7.03 ± 0.26) pC/N. The value could still be maintained at (4.47±0.17) pC/N after 12 weeks, meeting the piezoelectric constant range of bone. In vitro, the MC3T3-E1 cells showed better adhesion and proliferative activity in the group of polarized 20%BT. The highest alkaline phosphatase (ALP) content was observed in cells of this group. In vivo, it promoted rapid bone regeneration. At 4 weeks postoperatively, new bone formation was evident at the edges of the defect, with extensive marrow cavity formation; after 12 weeks, the defect was essentially completely closed, with density approximating normal bone tissue and significant mineralization. Conclusion: The BT/PLA piezoelectric composite membrane has good osteogenic properties and provides a new idea for guiding the research of membrane materials for bone tissue regeneration.

[Species-associated differences in foliage-root coupling soil-reinforcement and anti-erosion].

This paper took four kinds of common soil and water conservation plants of the study area, Caragana microphylla, Salix psammophila, Artemisia sphaerocephala and Hippophae rhamnides at ages of 4 as the research object. Thirteen indicators, i.e., single shrub to reduce wind velocity ration, shelterbelt reducing wind velocity ration, community reducing wind velocity ration, taproot tensile strength, representative root constitutive properties, representative root elasticity modulus, lateral root branch tensile strength, accumulative surface area, root-soil interface sheer strength, interface friction coefficient, accumulative root length, root-soil composite cohesive, root-soil composite equivalent friction angle, reflecting the characteristics of windbreak and roots, were chose to evaluate the differences of foliage-root coupling soil-reinforcement and anti-erosion among four kinds of plants by analytic hierarchy process (AHP) under the condition of spring gale and summer rainstorm, respectively. The results showed the anti-erosion index of foliage-root coupling was in the sequence of S. psammophila (0.841) > C. microphylla (0.454) > A. sphaerocephala (-0.466) > H. rhamnides (-0.829) in spring gale, and C. microphylla (0.841) > S. psammophila (0. 474) > A. sphaerocephala (-0.470) > H. rhamnides (-0.844) in summer rainstorm. S. psammophila could be regarded as one of the most important windbreak and anti-erosion species, while C. microphylla could be the most valuable soil and water conservation plant for the study area.