3D Printed Bioceramic Scaffolds as a Universal Therapeutic Platform for Synergistic Therapy of Osteosarcoma

The postoperative tumor recurrence and chemotherapy resistance in clinical osteosarcoma treatment have raised an imperative need to develop local implants for selectively killing residual tumor cells and simultaneously provide a scaffold for effectively filling the tumor resection-induced bone defects. Herein, a multifunctional platform is developed through successively coating TiN microparticles and doxorubicin (DOX) on the surface of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) scaffolds to achieve synergetic effects of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy for osteosarcoma. The content of TiN and DOX in the scaffolds can be flexibly adjusted by immersing the scaffolds into the solution containing different concentrations of TiN and DOX. The excellent therapeutic effect was achieved both in vitro and in vivo through the precise photothermal therapy and localized controlled-release chemotherapy. Moreover, the overall bulk scaffolds provide the mechanical support for bone tissue when implanting scaffolds into bone defects resulting from surgical removal of osteosarcoma. Importantly, using the poly(d,l-lactide) (PDLLA) as the medium, the scaffolds can be exploited as a universal platform for loading different kinds of therapeutic agents. This study may provide insights into designing multifunctional local implantation for eradicating tumors after surgical interventions with mitigated side effects.