Orthobiologic Products: Preservation Options for Orthopedic Research and Clinical Applications

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic biologics
• Regenerative medicine
• Tissue engineering

Background:

• Musculoskeletal allografts and biological therapies are increasingly used in orthopedics.
• These products support natural healing, potentially avoiding invasive procedures and donor site morbidity.
• Current evidence for biologics' efficacy is limited, despite promising preliminary studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of biological products in orthopedics.
• To discuss preservation techniques for cellular therapies.
• To highlight the need for robust clinical evidence in the field of biologics.

Main Methods:

• Review of current orthopedic biological products, including allografts and therapies.
• Discussion of preservation methods: cryopreservation, vitrification, lyophilization, and cryoprotective agents (CPAs).
• Analysis of optimal preservation conditions for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Main Results:

• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) shows high viability when preserved with 6% DMSO and rate-controlled freezing.
• Other cellular therapies benefit from 5% or 10% DMSO with rate-controlled freezing.
• Extracellular vesicles (EVs) achieve optimal results via lyophilization with trehalose for room temperature storage.

Conclusions:

• Biological products offer promising alternatives in orthopedics, enhancing healing capacity.
• Effective preservation techniques are crucial for maintaining the viability and efficacy of cellular therapies.
• Further robust clinical trials are essential to validate the widespread use of orthopedic biologics.