Multifunctional composite hydrogels incorporating mineral-coated nanofibers with magnetic nanoparticles for photothermal therapy and bone tissue regeneration

Abstract

Osteosarcoma is one of the major bone diseases. The treatment of osteosarcoma typically requires the surgical removal and regeneration of tumor-induced critical bone defects simultaneously. To overcome the problem, multifunctional biomaterials with both tumor therapy and bone regeneration functions are required. In this study, we prepared a composite hydrogel that incorporates mineral-coated magnetic nanofibers (G-mMFs) using electrospinning and surface modification techniques. G-mMFs combine a high photothermal effect with improved bone regeneration abilities. Specifically, our G-mMFs exhibited remarkable photothermal effects even when exposed to an ultralow power density of 1.5 W/cm² through the irradiation of 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser, unlike pure G-mMFs that did not show any such effect. The photothermal effect of G-mMFs, can be modulated based on the concentration of fibers. In the 8 mg/mL group, the temperature increased to 44°C, resulting in over 80% cell apoptosis of human osteosarcoma (MG63) in vitro. Additionally, G-mMFs enhance the upregulation of osteogenic differentiation in human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) and demonstrate significant bone formation in the calvarial defect model in mice. Our results demonstrate the multifunctional properties of the prepared G-mMFs in photothermal effect and bone tissue regeneration, which is expected to pave a new path for multifunctional implantable biomaterials with both therapeutic and regenerative functions.