Reconstructing Bone Defects Using In Vivo Nanocomposite Scaffold Printing

Critically sized boine defects commonly caused by traumatic injuries and tumor removal can overwhelm the regenerative capacity of the native tissue. Reparative strategies such as auto, xeno, and allografts are clinically insufficient to treart such defects. For the first time, we introduce the use of handheld melt spun three dimensional printers that can deposit materials directly within the defect site to properly fill the cavity and form free-standing scaffolds. Our 3D nanocomposite filaments can be deposited using low-temperature printing to avoid overheating of the surrounding tissues. The <i>in situ or in vivo</i> printed scaffolds have moderate adhesion to wet bone tissue, which can prevent scaffold dislocation. The printed scaffolds showed a high level of biocompatibility and were osteoconductive supporting the osteodifferentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.