Cerium-mediated osteoinduction and ROS scavenging in 3D-printed PCL/SMCS scaffolds

Bone defects resulting from trauma, malignant tumors, or infections are common clinical conditions. Current clinical treatments for bone defects, however, are associated with secondary injury, poor morphological matching, and immune rejection, falling short of clinical needs. Multifunctional bioscaffolds with osteogenic induction capability have emerged as a highly promising therapeutic strategy. In this study, 3D printing technology was utilized to fabricate scaffolds integrating ROS scavenging and osteogenic differentiation dual functions, and their physicochemical properties and biocompatibility were systematically investigated. Polycaprolactone (PCL) and strontium-magnesium-doped calcium silicate (SMCS) were selected to prepare PCL/SMCS scaffolds with varying SMCS ratios. SMCS incorporation effectively enhanced scaffold hydrophilicity and accelerated degradation. Cell culture experiments confirmed good biocompatibility of the PCL/SMCS scaffolds. Subsequently, cerium-doped SMCS bioceramics were prepared via a post-impregnation process. Notably, the PCL/0.1M Ce-SMCS scaffold exhibited optimal compressive performance, achieving a strength of 22.78 MPa-a 26.42% increase over the PCL/4SMCS scaffold. Compared with PCL/4SMCS, Ce doping promoted cell proliferation and adhesion, conferred ROS scavenging ability, and in vitro osteogenic assays indicated that low-content Ce-SMCS enhanced osteogenic differentiation.