Immunomodulation and bone repair of 3D printed Seb/PCL scaffolds containing PDA coating

3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds are widely used for bone tissue engineering but suffer from deficiencies such as difficulty in cell adhesion, lack of osteogenic activity, and immunomodulatory capacity. Enhancing the biological response properties of PCL scaffolds has been a hot research topic in bone tissue engineering. In this study, three groups of scaffolds, polycaprolactone (PCL), strontium (Sr)-doped bioactive glass (SrBG)/PCL, and polydopamine (PDA)/SrBG/PCL were prepared. The scaffolds were assayed in vitro for their contributing to the expression of osteoinductive differentiation markers (ALP, RUNX2, and COL-1), and the behavior of macrophages (MPs) (CD206, ARG, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-10 and IL-12) was observed. In vivo effect on bone defect repair was assessed using Micro-CT, HE staining, Masson staining, and immunofluorescence staining of iNOS, CD163, BMP-2, and VEGF. The results showed that PDA/SrBG/PCL scaffolds significantly promoted the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, inhibited the differentiation of MPs to the M1 phenotype, and promoted the differentiation of MPs to the M2 phenotype, resulting in a better pro-osteoporotic, immunomodulatory, and angiogenic effect in vivo. This may be related to the strontium (Sr²⁺) ions released by SrBG, and the surface modification of PDA further enhanced the immunomodulation and bone repair ability of the scaffold. The study demonstrated that the PDA/SrBG/PCL scaffolds have an excellent bone repair effect and are expected to be used in bone tissue engineering.