A tough injectable self-setting cement-based hydrogel for noninvasive bone augmentation

Composite hydrogels with excellent properties can open new opportunities to terminate the need for auto/allografts in bone augmentations. However, their clinical application has been limited by their insufficient mechanical strength and lack of osteoinductivity. Here we report a new strategy to design an injectable bioactive double network hydrogel reinforced by inorganic calcium/magnesium phosphate cement (CMPC) hydrates to meet the mechanical performance requirements for bone regeneration. The engineered CMPC hydration endows the composite hydrogel with an appropriate gelation time and temperature for injection, which shows no harm in the defect site. CMPC hydrates could also provide a lower swelling ratio and higher biodegradation rate fitting the in vivo bone regeneration needs. In vitro and in vivo experiments prove that the ions released from inorganic particles endow biocompatibility, cell migration, adhesion, differentiation, and significantly higher bone regeneration capacity. Taken together, the simple addition of CMPC particles imparts in-demand features that bring us closer to the clinical utilization of hydrogel-based materials for bone regeneration.