Additive Manufacturing of ECM-Mimetic Bone Scaffolds and Their Bone Regeneration Effects

Hierarchical extracellular-matrix architectures regulate cell adhesion, migration, differentiation, vascularization, and tissue remodeling. However, conventional extrusion-based additive manufacturing offers limited control over the microstructure of individual printed filaments. This presentation introduces an integrated structured-nozzle strategy in which high-resolution photopolymerization defines the internal geometry of the nozzle and continuously transfers that geometry to extruded scaffold filaments. Coaxial nozzles generate tunable hollow microchannels, while prism-integrated nozzles create continuous surface microgrooves. The resulting architectures preserve cytocompatibility, facilitate cell ingress, modulate angiogenic and osteogenic responses, and guide cellular alignment. In vitro and in vivo evaluations further reveal distinct size- and time-dependent windows: intermediate-to-large microchannels favor overall bone regeneration, whereas different groove dimensions preferentially affect early osteogenic activation and later bone maturation. These findings establish nozzle engineering as a scalable route for constructing regenerative microenvironments with complex topologies and for bridging macroscale scaffold fabrication with microscale biological regulation.

Prof. Haijian Zhong is Professor, Master’s Supervisor, and Dean of the School of Medical Information Engineering at Gannan Medical University. He is recognized under Jiangxi Province’s Ganpo Excellence Program as a Leading Talent in Higher Education. His research focuses on nanomedicine, particularly nanomaterials for phototherapy, antibacterial treatment, and wound healing. He received his B.Eng. in Environmental Engineering from Beijing Technology and Business University in 1999, his M.Eng. in Applied Chemistry from Shanghai University in 2007, and his Ph.D. in Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics from the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2012. He previously served as a Senior Engineer at the same institute and joined Gannan Medical University as a high-level recruit in 2019. He has led more than ten competitive research projects, including projects supported by the National Key R&D Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. His current work advances interdisciplinary integration among nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, and regenerative medicine.