Abstract
BACKGROUND: Demineralized freeze-dried bone allografts (DFDBAs) have emerged as a valuable biomaterial for regenerative therapy owing to their osteoinductive properties, which are attributable to the presence of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). The different demineralization protocols used during graft processing by various tissue banks affect the levels of these growth factors. This study investigated the release of BMP-7 from a DFDBA prepared using two different demineralization time intervals. METHOD: A total of 144 bone graft samples were prepared using a standard protocol. The samples were divided into two groups, each containing 72. Group 1 samples were demineralized for 18 hours, and Group 2 samples were demineralized for 90 minutes. All samples were gamma-irradiated and subjected to the BMP-7 extraction procedure. Quantification of BMP-7 was done using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The mean BMP-7 concentration of Group 1 was 135.609±11.943 ng/g and that of Group 2 was 95.442±9.226 ng/g. This difference between the mean BMP-7 concentration was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: The study evaluated the effect of demineralization time on BMP-7 levels in indigenously prepared DFDBAs. By unveiling the relationship between demineralization time and BMP content, this study paves the way for optimizing DFDBA quality and advancing its potential in regenerative therapy.