Application of Platelet-Rich Plasma-Based Scaffolds in Soft and Hard Tissue Regeneration

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a blood product with higher platelet concentrations than whole blood, offering controlled delivery of growth factors (GFs) for regenerative medicine. PRP plays pivotal roles in tissue restoration mechanisms, including angiogenesis, fibroblast proliferation, and extracellular matrix development, making it applicable across various regenerative medicine treatments. Despite promising results in different tissue injuries, challenges such as short half-life and rapid deactivation by proteases persist. To address these challenges, biomaterial-based delivery scaffolds, such as sponges or hydrogels, have been investigated. Current studies exhibit that PRP-loaded scaffolds fix these issues due to the sustained release of GFs. In this regard, given the widespread application of PRP in clinical studies, the use of PRP-loaded scaffolds has drawn significant consideration in tissue engineering (TE). Therefore, this review briefly introduces PRP as a rich origin of GFs, its classification, and preparation methods and discusses PRP applications in regenerative medicine. This study also emphasizes and reviews the latest research on the using scaffolds for PRP delivery in diverse fields of TE, including skin, bone, and cartilage repair.Impact StatementPlatelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a blood product with high platelet concentrations, offering managed delivery of growth factors (GFs) for regenerative medicine. This review briefly introduces PRP as a rich source of GFs and discusses PRP-loaded scaffold applications in soft and hard tissue including skin, bone, and cartilage restoration. In the current study, the applications of PRP-loaded scaffold in soft and hard tissue regeneration (skin, bone, and cartilage) were discussed in detail.