AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB026170150
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Low-density ZIF-8 coating optimizes the immune microenvironment of 3D-printed PCL scaffolds and promotes cranial defect repair

Qianyu Xie1,2† ,  Xusihong Cai1,2,3† ,  Guangquan Zhao1,2† ,  Hao Tang1 ,  Yuanhao Lv1,2 ,  Jiaxiang Song1 ,  Shuai Huang4* ,  Weikang Xu2,4* ,  Qingde Wa1*
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1 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Second Affiliate Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
2 Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
3 Department of Nursing, Nursing School of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
4 National Engineering Research Center for Healthcare Devices, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Electronic Instruments and Materials, Guangdong Institute of Medical Instruments, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
IJB, 026170150 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJB026170150
Received: 2 April 2026 | Revised: 13 May 2026 | Accepted: 14 May 2026 | Published online: 18 May 2026
© 2026 by the 026170150. 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/ )
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Abstract

The hydrophobicity of 3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds leads to insufficient cell adhesion, limiting their application in bone repair. This study constructed zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) modified PCL scaffolds with different coating densities and systematically evaluated their physicochemical properties and osteogenic effects. The results showed that low-density ZIF-8-coated PCL scaffolds exhibited better biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation promotion capacity, while maintaining structural stability and mechanical properties. Mechanistically, the low-density coating can induce macrophages toward M2 polarization, thereby forming a more favorable osteogenic immune microenvironment. Simultaneously, in a rat skull defect model, this scaffold significantly promoted new bone regeneration and defect repair. This study indicates that ZIF-8 coating density is a key parameter affecting the immunomodulatory osteogenic efficacy of PCL scaffolds, providing a basis for the design and optimization of metal–organic framework-based coated scaffolds.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
3D-printed scaffold
Polycaprolactone
Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8
Macrophage polarization
Bone regeneration
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32571583), the Guangdong Province Science and Technology Plan Project (2024A1515012265), the Zunyi City Science & Technology Innovation Talent Project (No. [2024] 04), and the GDAS Project of Science and Technology Development (2023GDASZH-2023010102).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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