AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB026030020
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Si–C covalent bonding-mediated interfacial charge transfer enhances photodynamic antitumor effects of selective laser sintered bone scaffolds

Bingxin Sun1† ,  Zhiheng Yu2† ,  Shuping Peng3 ,  Weifan Dai1 ,  Jiaxiang Wu1 ,  Guoyong Wang1* ,  Cijun Shuai1,4*
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1 Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Additive Manufacturing of Implantable Medical Device, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jiaxing Nanhu University, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China
3 The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education of Xiangya Hospital and School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
4 State Key Laboratory of Precision Manufacturing for Extreme Service Performance, College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
IJB, 026030020 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJB026030020
Received: 12 January 2026 | Accepted: 3 March 2026 | Published online: 17 April 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Clinical Application)
© 2026 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/ )
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Abstract

Nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs) show promising potential in photodynamic antitumor applications due to their appropriate band gap and photo-responsiveness. Nevertheless, their therapeutic efficacy is limited by both a low reactive oxygen species (ROS) quantum yield and their propensity for aggregation. Herein, NCDs were encapsulated within mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) to fabricate an effective photosensitizer (NCDs@MSN) via a one-pot hydrothermal method. The covalent Si–C bonds formed between NCDs and MSNs enhanced interfacial charge transfer, thereby substantially amplifying the generation of ROS under hypoxic conditions. Meanwhile, the mesoporous structure of MSNs prevented NCD aggregation and provided a larger accessible surface area with more exposed active sites. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy confirmed the light-triggered generation of ROS, validating its potent ROS generation capacity under hypoxia. Subsequently, NCDs@ MSN were incorporated into poly-L-lactic acid to fabricate a composite scaffold via selective laser sintering, which was designed for postoperative photodynamic management of tumorous bone defects. The resulting scaffold exhibited potent photodynamic cytotoxicity against tumor cells alongside excellent biocompatibility. This work presents a potential strategy for engineering intelligent implants to prevent postoperative tumor recurrence.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Nitrogen-doped carbon dots
Photodynamic therapy
Scaffold
Antitumor
Selective laser sintering
Funding
This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant no.: 2023YFB4605800); the Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos.: U24A20120, 52475362, 52365046, 52465041); JiangXi Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos.: 20224ACB204013, 20252BAC240111); Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Additive Manufacturing of Implantable Medical Device (grant no.: 2024SSY11161); and Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education Science and Technology Project (grant no.: GJJ2200813). All funders have no influence on the study design, execution, data interpretation, or the content of the published article.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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