Biocompatibility and biodegradation analysis of Nile Tilapia gelatin and apatite membranes

ABSTRACT Fish farming by-products could represent large-scale raw materials for xenogeneic implants that could be used for bone regeneration. The objective of this research was to analyze the biocompatibility and biodegradation of gelatin (G) and apatite (A) membranes from Nile tilapia. Adult male Swiss mice underwent subcutaneous implantation of biocomposites derived from skins and scales in different concentrations: 60%G:40%A (G1), 70%G:30%A (G2) and 80%G:20%A (G3). Commercial collagen membrane (C+) or implantless surgery (C-) were used as controls. Euthanasia was performed at 1, 3 or 9 weeks for histological analysis of the inflammatory and repair criteria as well as the integrity of each material. The statistical analysis of non-parametric data was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and post-hoc Dunn test, with p