In vivo behavior of poly(ε-caprolactone-CO-DL-lactide)/bioactive glass composites in rat subcutaneous tissue

In this study, tissue reactions and possible toxicological responses of two different bioactive and degradable composite materials consisting of poly(epsilon-caprolactone-CO-DL-lactide) and bioactive glass (S53P4) granules were evaluated. The chosen materials were implanted subcutaneously in the back of rats for six months. The glass granules retained their bioactivity within the polymer matrices. A fibrous capsule formed around all tested materials and around the materials containing bioactive glass the fibrous capsules appeared to be thicker. Tissue growth into these materials was observed during the healing period while no growth was noticed into the plain polymer matrices. No adverse reactions were seen with any of the evaluated materials.