AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025330325
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

Dual-controlled-release dual-antibiotic-loaded bone scaffolds: Development and in vivo/in vitro study

Peijie Zhao1,2 Liangguo Si1,2 Huan He1,2 Huanhuan Sun1,2 Zhipeng Yang1,2 Mei Tian1,2 Haiqiang Ma1,2 Xu Ma1,2 Huanxiang Guan1,2 Yaodong Wang1,2 Zewen Qiao2*
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1 Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
2 General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
Received: 11 August 2025 | Accepted: 3 September 2025 | Published online: 9 September 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

The treatment of infectious bone defects (IBDs) is a major challenge in orthopedics, with infection control and defect repair as the two primary treatment goals. The development of three-dimensional (3D)-printed bone scaffolds capable of sustained and stable antibiotic release is an effective strategy for treating such defects. Specifically, the antibiotic loading method and the concentration of released antibiotics significantly affect infection control and bone repair outcomes. In this study, The double antibiotic microspheres were prepared by the double emulsion-solvent evaporation method. Moxifloxacin/ Rifampicin were encapsulated by poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) to form RM-PLGA. Subsequently, different concentrations of RM-PLGA and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were loaded onto a 3D-printed triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) titanium scaffold (TiS) with a graded porosity design. The loading of different concentrations of RM-PLGA and bFGF onto the 3D-TPMS TiS enabled the dual-controlled release of two antibiotics and enhanced the stability of the antibiotic release. In vitro, results showed that RM-PLGA/bFGF(GelMA)@TiS exhibited strong antimicrobial properties, cytocompatibility, and the capacity for osteoblast differentiation and extracellular mineralization. In vivo,RM-PLGA/bFGF(GelMA)@TiS was effective in inhibiting infections induced by Staphylococcus aureus (SA) while promoting osteogenesis and angiogenesis. These results suggest that RM-PLGA-2/bFGF(GelMA)@TiS can stably release antibiotics to achieve the therapeutic goals of infection control and promotion of osteogenesis and angiogenesis.

Keywords
Infectious bone defect
3D printing
RM-PLGA
Basic fibroblast growth factor
Antimicrobial
Bone regeneration
Funding
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 82460431) and the Ningxia Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 2023AACO2064).
Conflict of interest
The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing