Evaluation of storage parameters of platelet-rich plasma in functional assay of epithelial gap repair

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), produced from autologous blood and containing growth factors, has shown promise in treating various conditions, including diabetic wounds. However, as expected, patient compliance is low in the context of repeated treatments as required for hard-to-heal wounds. This study investigates the efficacy of PRP stored under refrigeration for up to 2 weeks in promoting in-vitro human epithelial cell gap closure. PRP was prepared from six healthy individuals and immediately split into sterile test tubes for storage at 4 °C; the impact of fresh PRP on epithelial gap closure was compared to paired PRP samples stored for one and two weeks. According to gap closure analysis, 5 out of 6 individuals depicted accelerated epithelial gap closure compared to control conditions. There was no significant difference between fresh and refrigerated samples. An overall benefit was observed for using 1-week old samples over 2-week-old samples. Interestingly, according to a 6-hr epithelial gap analysis, significantly accelerated cell migration was obtained by 1-week-old refrigerated samples compared to their corresponding fresh PRP samples. The current study provides data in support of increasing the accessibility of PRP treatment for patients with hard-to-heal wounds. Patients can potentially self-treat between wound clinic appointments by using refrigerated sterile aliquots of their fresh PRP. Notably, by the end of two weeks, refrigerated PRP will not act as fresh PRP. More research is needed to fully investigate the effect of refrigeration on PRP sample efficacy, including larger cohorts, clinical wounds, and an evaluation of the molecular fingerprint of refrigerated PRP samples.