Aim: Three different types of silk fibroin (SF) membrane were tested for guided bone regeneration.

Materials and method: Physical properties of 3 SF membrane was tested by FT-IR and dissolution test. Bone regeneration capacity was tested in the animal model.

Results: FT-IR showed that the conformation of the SF membrane was a random coil structure. The solubility of the SF membrane against distilled water was examined. Among the 3 types of silk membranes, SM1 was the least soluble to distilled water compared to the other types of SF membranes. When a silk membrane was used in the rabbit calvarial defect model, the groups with silk membranes had significantly higher new bone formation than the uncovered control in both the micro-computerized tomogram and histomorphometric analyses ( p < 0.05). The silk membrane was covered by thin fibrotic tissues or made contact with new bone. There was no evidence of infiltration of any inflammatory cells around the silk membrane.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the silk fibroin membrane had more new bone formation compared to the uncovered control.

Conflict of interest: We do not have any conflict of interest.