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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Computed Tomography and Optical Imaging of Osteogenesis-angiogenesis Coupling to Assess Integration of Cranial Bone Autografts and Allografts
Published on: December 22, 2015
Quantification of growth factors in allogenic bone grafts extracted with three different methods
B Wildemann1, A Kadow-Romacker, A Pruss
1Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany. Britt.Wildemann@charite.de
Background:
Bony allografts are used for defect filling. A reliable sterilization method is the peracetic acid-ethanol sterilization procedure (PES). Several studies showed the antimicrobiological efficacy of this method. Aim of this study was the quantification of growth factors necessary for bone formation in PES sterilized allografts (n = 9).
Methods:
To extract the growth factors from the tissue three different methods were used: (a) use of collagenase 1 for extraction, (b) incubation of the material in a proteinase inhibitor cocktail (Complete), and (c) extraction with guanidine HCl. The supernatants from the different methods were analyzed for the total protein concentration and different growth factors.
Results:
The extraction with guanidine HCl resulted in the highest amount of protein measurable in the supernatants of the samples. For comparison of the individual growth factor values the results were normalized to the protein content. The highest growth factor amount/protein was detectable for BMP-2 using the GndHCL method followed by FGFa, IGF-I, TGF-beta1, VEGF, and PDGF. Comparing the three extraction methods, significant differences were measured for the individual growth factor content.
Conclusion:
PES sterilized bony allografts contain several growth factors. Depending on the extraction method, the quantity of the analyzed growth factors varies.

