Chemical and physical processing of allografts is associated with a significant reduction in biomechanics. Therefore, treatment of tissue with high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) offers the possibility to devitalize tissue gently without changing biomechanical properties. To obtain an initial assessment of the effectiveness of HHP treatment, human osteoblasts and chondrocytes were treated with different HHPs (100–150 MPa, 250–300 MPa, 450–500 MPa). Devitalization efficiency was determined by analyzing the metabolic activity via WST-1(water-soluble tetrazolium salt) assay. The type of cell death was detected with an apoptosis/necrosis ELISA (enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay) and flow cytometry. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were carried out to detect the degree of cell destruction. After HHP treatment, the metabolic activities of both cell types decreased, whereas HHP of 250 MPa and higher resulted in metabolic inactivation. Further, the highest HHP range induced mostly necrosis while the lower HHP ranges induced apoptosis and necrosis equally. FESEM and TEM analyses of treated osteoblasts revealed pressure-dependent cell damage. In the present study, it could be proven that a pressure range of 250–300 MPa can be used for cell devitalization. However, in order to treat bone and cartilage tissue gently with HHP, the results of our cell experiments must be verified for tissue samples in future studies.

Hydrostatic high-pressure technology (HHD) devitalizes tissue quickly and gently, without negatively affecting the structural properties. HHD-treated tissues must be cleaned from devitalized cells. A partially automated, gentle, reproducible and timesaving rinsing test setup utilizing ultrasound is demonstrated in this study. The test setup is used to clean HHD-treated bone allografts of tissue residues and prevent microbiological contamination. A rinsing procedure is investigated. Residual DNA content determination is utilized to analyze cleaned bone allograft tissue for rinsing procedure evaluation.

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