**12. Carriers in bone regeneration**

Biomaterial carriers are needed for delivery and sustained release of growth factors. The application of growth factors without a proper carrier is very hard and their handling is almost impossible. There is no universal carrier for this purpose. Several biomaterial carriers have been suggested to be effective in delivery of certain growth factors and accelerate bone formation. The osteoconductive ability of the scaffold should be considered in choosing the right carrier for the purpose. The advantages and disadvantages of usual growth factor carriers are presented in Table 1.


PLGA,Polylactic co-glycolic acid; ACS, Absorbable collagen sponge; HA, Hydroxyapatite; NBM, Natural bone matrix; DBM, Demineralized bone matrix; β-TCP, Beta tri-calcium phosphate.

**Table 1.** The pros and cons of most common scaffolds
