Purification processes of xenogeneic bone substitutes and their impact on tissue reactions and regeneration

Xenogeneic bone substitute materials are widely used in oral implantology. Prior to their clinical use, purification of the former bone tissue has to be conducted to ensure the removal of immunogenic components and pathogens. Different physicochemical methods are applied for purification of the donor tissue, and temperature treatment is one of these methods. Differences in these methods and especially the application of different temperatures for purification may lead to different material characteristics, which may influence the tissue reactions to these materials and the related (bone) healing process. However, little is known about the different material characteristics and their influences on the healing process. Thus, the aim of this mini-review is to summarize the preparation processes and the related material characteristics, safety aspects, tissue reactions, resorbability and preclinical and clinical data of two widely used xenogeneic bone substitutes that mainly differ in the temperature treatment: sintered (cerabone((R))) and non-sintered (Bio-Oss((R))) bovine-bone materials. Based on the summarized data from the literature, a connection between the material-induced tissue reactions and the consequences for the healing processes are presented with the aim of translation into their clinical application.