AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025380391
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

3D-printed bionic structure dual cross-linked hydrogel composite drug-loaded scaffolds for repairing large bone defects

 

Xulin Hu1,2†* Zhen Zhang3† Lijin Ning4† Yixuan Lan1 Wang Gong1 Jiayu Liu1 Shuhao Yang5 Haoming Wu1 Weiming Zhao1 Jian He6 Kainan Li1* Weizong Weng7,8*
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1 Clinical Medical College and Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, Chengdu University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610081, China
2 Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
3 Chengdu Institute of organic chemistry, Chinese Academy of sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.
4 Medical College Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121010, China.
5 Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400042, China.
6 College of Medical, Henan University of Science and Technology Luoyang 471023, China.
7 Department of Orthopeadics, Chenggong Hospital affiliated to Xiamen University,Xiamen, Fujian 361000, China
8 Institute of Translational Medicine,Shanghai University, Shanghai 310010, China
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
Received: 21 September 2025 | Accepted: 12 November 2025 | Published online: 14 November 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

The structure, composition, and function of natural bone have long been the focus of bone tissue engineering. However, existing organic–inorganic 3D printing systems are limited by hydrogel stability and inorganic salt content, hindering the fabrication of robust three-dimensional scaffolds. In this study, we developed a hydrogel–inorganic particle bioink and implemented a multi-step crosslinking strategy. The organic phase, composed of sodium alginate, gelatin, and chitosan, was combined with β-tricalcium phosphate and crosslinked via ionic pre-crosslinking followed by Schiff base reaction to form a dual-crosslinked network. The resulting scaffolds exhibited excellent mechanical properties and biomimetic microarchitecture while maintaining shape stability under physiological conditions. Furthermore, the tunable swelling behavior of the hydrogel enabled efficient loading and controlled release of the small molecule EGCG. This composite scaffold demonstrated adjustable swelling, controllable degradation, and significantly enhanced cellular compatibility, providing a novel, efficient, and scalable strategy for the repair of complex bone defects and offering new insights for the design and application of 3D-printed bone scaffolds.

Keywords
3D printing; Hydrogel base; β-TCP; Bionic tissue structure
Funding
This study was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC, #82402822, 82202674), The central government of Sichuan Province guides the special project of local science and technology development (#2024ZYD0155), Health Commission of Sichuan Province Medical Science and Technology Program(#24QNMP036), Natural Science Foundation of Xiamen, China (3502Z20227124)
Conflict of interest
Xulin Hu serves as the Editorial Board Member of the journal, but did not in any way involve in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Other authors declare they have no competing interests
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing