Natural Rubber Latex Biomaterials in Bone Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

Natural rubber latex (NRL) is a white and milky solution that exudes from Hevea brasiliensis bark when perforated, and it has been appointed as a new promising biomaterial. NRL has been proven to be a very biocompatible material, and several new biomedical applications have been proposed. NRL has been proven to stimulate angiogenesis, cellular adhesion and formation of extracellular matrix, besides promoting replacement and regeneration of tissue. NRL also can be used as an occlusive membrane for guided bone regeneration (GBR) with promising results. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to review NRL studies and to present NRL membrane as a promising biomembrane for use in bone trauma and injury