Platelet-rich fibrin: Its role in periodontal regeneration

Platelets can play a crucial role in periodontal regeneration as they are reservoirs of growth factors and cytokines which are the key factors for regeneration of the bone and maturation of the soft tissue. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) are autologous platelet concentrates prepared from patient’s own blood. Recent researches are being focused on the development of therapeutic alternatives which are easy to prepare, non-toxic or biocompatible to living tissues and economically cheap that might result in the local release of growth factors accelerating hard and soft tissue healing. PRF is a natural fibrin-based biomaterial prepared from an anticoagulant-free blood harvest without any artificial biochemical modification that allows obtaining fibrin membranes enriched with platelets and growth factors. Evidence from the literature suggests the potential role of PRF in periodontal regeneration and tissue engineering. The slow polymerization during centrifugation and fibrin-based structure makes PRF a better healing biomaterial than PRP and other fibrin adhesives. The main aim of this review article is to briefly describe the novel platelet concentrate PRF and its potential role in periodontal regeneration.