Abstract
Recently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been examined for its ability to augment bone growth and/or to promote wound healing. However, with the existing protocols for preparing PRP, the platelet concentration can not be adjusted ; and exogenous thrombin is used to coagulate the PRP. The purpose of this study is to devise a new protocol for PRP preparation by which the concentration of platelets can be adjusted and also be able to prepare the PRP only from subjects peripheral blood. In this new protocol, subject's blood sera obtained without anticoagulant were used to coagulate the PRP and to investigate the optimal set of conditions for PRP preparation. This method can concentrate the PRP to a greater extent than existing protocols. The concentrations of various cytokines (PDGF, TGF-β, VEGF, and IGF-I) in the PRP fraction, which cytokines act to heal periodontal tissue, were measured. Each cytokine was concentrated 2.5 to 4.5 times its level in peripheral blood. These results suggest that PRP prepared by this new method is more useful and safer for tissue augmentation than previous preparations, as it contains higher concentrations of cytokines beneficial for periodontal tissue regeneration.
