Curcumin and vitamin D3 release from calcium phosphate enhances bone regeneration

Improving early in vivo osseointegration and removing residual cancer cells after tumor removal requires the development of novel bone implants with osteogenic and anti-cancer properties. Here, curcumin and vitamin D3 (Cur/VitD3) are loaded into calcium phosphate (CaP) matrices to improve in vivo osteogenesis and inhibit the proliferation of human osteosarcoma cells. Patient-specific, 3D-printed tricalcium phosphate (TCP) loaded with Cur/VitD3 increases the viability of in vitro osteoblast cells after 11 days. When delivered in combination, Cur/VitD3 loaded hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated Ti64 implant promotes new bone formation by 2.7-fold compared to the control after 6 weeks. This delivery system also decreases osteosarcoma cell viability relative to the 3D-printed TCP after day 11, indicating its anti-cancer properties. These findings contribute to the understanding of multifunctional CaP bone grafts to improve early osteogenesis after severe bone trauma and suppress the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells after tumor resection surgery.