Autologous thrombin preparations: Biocompatibility and growth factor release

Area of Science:

• Regenerative Medicine
• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is utilized for wound healing.
• Autologous serum (AS) with thrombin can be prepared with (E+ AS) or without ethanol (E- AS).
• Ethanol is used to stabilize autologous thrombin preparations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate wound healing mechanisms of E+ AS and E- AS.
• To assess biocompatibility and growth factor release from PRP with AS preparations.
• To compare the efficacy of ethanol-free versus ethanol-containing autologous serum in wound healing contexts.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of E+ AS and E- AS using commercial devices.
• Biocompatibility testing of AS preparations.
• Assessment of growth factor and cytokine release from PRP combined with AS.
• Evaluation of leukocyte viability and mesenchymal stem cell proliferation.

Main Results:

• E- AS demonstrated significantly higher leukocyte viability (97.1%) compared to E+ AS (41.8%).
• E- AS supported greater bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell proliferation at various ratios (e.g., 3.7x at 1:4).
• Ethanol significantly reduced the release of 27 out of 36 evaluated growth factors and cytokines from PRP.

Conclusions:

• Ethanol-free autologous serum (E- AS) is superior for wound healing applications compared to ethanol-containing preparations (E+ AS).
• The presence of ethanol in autologous serum preparations negatively impacts cell viability, proliferation, and growth factor release.
• High ethanol concentrations in point-of-care autologous thrombin preparations may be detrimental to wound healing.