Aim: The decellularization process aims to remove cellular components from the tissues while preserving the ultrastructural composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Decellularization of bone is gaining attention as a biological scaffold due to its unique histoarchitecture, which consists of both organic and inorganic compounds. This study aims to develop a biological bone ECM using a novel decellularization method for bone regeneration. Methods: Rabbit and rat bone tissues were decellularized using a novel process that combines physical, chemical, and enzymatic methods with 0.1% SDS. Bone tissues were evaluated in terms of histology, biochemistry, and biomechanical tests, both before and after decellularization. Additionally, decellularized bone substitutes were recellularized with preosteoblast cells to assess the cytotoxic effect of the decellularization process. Results: Our method effectively removes cellular components while preserving both organic and inorganic compounds. We achieved a 95% in DNA content for rabbit bone and 92% for rat bone. The biochemical and biomechanical properties remained unchanged, and mineralization features were preserved after decellularization. The cell culture results revealed that decellularized bone extracellular matrix (dbECM) is biocompatible, bioactive, and provides a suitable environment for cell growth. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that our novel decellularization method effectively develops biological bone ECM containing both organic and inorganic compounds while utilizing minimal chemical concentration and incubation time. It is foreseen that the resulting decellularized bone could serve as a biological substitute, providing a favorable microenvironment for bone regeneration.
Kara et al. (Thu,) studied this question.