FIG. 5.
In vivo bilateral full-thickness rabbit calvarial defects. (a) Two 8-mm-diameter defects were created. (b) The blended PCL/PLGA or PCL/PLGA/β-TCP membranes were placed randomly on the calvarial defects and fixed with titanium pins. μCT images were taken at 4 (c, d, e) and 8 (f, g, h) weeks after surgery. (c, f) control group, (d, g) PCL/PLGA group, (e, h) PCL/PLGA/β-TCP group. Numerical analysis of the in vivo experiments (the number of repeats=6). (i) Bone volume in the defect (mm3). (j) Bone mineral density (mg/mm3) based on the μCT analysis. The bone volume was significantly higher in the PCL/PLGA and PCL/PLGA/β-TCP groups than in the control group, but only the PCL/PLGA/β-TCP group had a higher bone mineral density than the control group. μCT, microcomputed tomography. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea