Summary: | Inspired by the process of bone reconstruction, porous scaffolds with robust osteogenesis and biodegradability would provide an ideal bone substitute for clinical practice. In this study, a novel porous Mg–Nd–Zn–Zr (JDBM) alloy scaffold coated with brushite (i.e., DCPD), denoted as JDBM-DCPD, is fabricated using a special patent template technique, which forms the main spherical pores (400–450 μm) and smaller pores (150–250 μm) interconnected between the adjacent main pores, facilitating nutrient penetration and cell in-growth, exhibiting sufficient mechanical properties. In vitro results demonstrate that JDBM-DCPD scaffolds promote cell in-growth and osteogenic differentiation, which significantly enhance mineralization, osteogenesis and angiogenesis-related genes expression when cultured with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. After implanting in vivo, JDBM-DCPD scaffolds effectively stimulate angiogenesis, osteogenesis, and remodeling with the degradation of JDBM-DCPD, and perfectly repair large bone defect in rat and rabbit models. Results from the present study provide the solid evidence that porous biodegradable Mg-based scaffolds whose pore structure can be precisely regulated by a spacer-selection technique may be a promising tissue engineering scaffolds for large bone defect repair clinically, free from any extra growth factors and live cells, such advances will make scaffold-based bone tissue repair safer, more convenient and more cost-effective. Keywords: Biodegradable Mg–Nd–Zn–Zr alloy scaffold, DCPD coating, Osteogenesis, Angiogenesis, Bone tissue engineering
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