AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025340338
COMMENTARY
Early Access

From PRP to personalized implants: A commentary on 3D-printed vascularized biofunctional scaffolds for bone regeneration

Hyun-Do Jung1*
Show Less
1 Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Received: 19 August 2025 | Published online: 20 August 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

Bone defects require simultaneous vascularization and sustained osteoinductive signaling to achieve functional repair—two goals often unmet by conventional grafts. This study employs platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a natural multi-factor source, embedded in a methacrylated gelatin/methacrylated alginate (GelMA/AlgMA) hydrogel and modified with laponite (Lap) to control growth factor release. The PRP–GA@Lap bioink is co-printed with polycaprolactone (PCL) to create structurally reinforced scaffolds. In vitro, PRP–GA@Lap promoted bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation, enhanced endothelial tube formation, and polarized macrophages toward a pro-regenerative M2 phenotype. In vivo, hybrid scaffolds accelerated vascular ingrowth and improved bone volume, mineral density, and integration in rat femoral condyle defects. By coupling biologically broad PRP signaling with engineered release kinetics and mechanical stability, this approach offers a clinically adaptable, patient-specific strategy for complex bone repair, with strong potential for personalized regenerative therapy.

Keywords
3D printing
Platelet-rich plasma
Laponite
Bone regeneration
Vascularization
Immunomodulation
Conflict of interest
Hyun-Do Jung is an Editorial Board Member of this journal, but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, the author declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
Share
Back to top
International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing