Enhancement of in vitro and in vivo bone repair performance of decalcified bone/gelma by desferrioxamine

Autologous and allogeneic bone grafting is currently the clinical gold standard for the treatment of bone defects; however, it is limited by the scarcity of autologous sources and the risk of secondary trauma, as well as the complications of disease transmission and immune rejection associated with allogeneic grafts. The clinical management of bone defects remains a significant challenge. In this study, we prepared a demineralized bone matrix/gelatin methacrylate composite hydrogel loaded with deferoxamine (GelMA/DBM/DFO) using a freeze-drying method and investigated its properties. Assessments using CCK-8, live-dead fluorescence staining, alkaline phosphatase staining, and Alizarin Red staining indicated that the GelMA/DBM/DFO composite hydrogel demonstrated superior biocompatibility and in vitro osteogenic differentiation capacity compared with the GelMA/DBM composite hydrogel. We established a cranial defect model in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and examined peripheral blood indices, micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT), hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, Masson's trichrome staining, and immunohistochemical staining for bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and collagen type I (COL-1). Both hydrogels exhibited good biosafety and the GelMA/DBM/DFO hydrogel showed more effective repair of cranial defects in SD rats. This study provides a novel material for bone-defect repair.