Superhydrophilic 3D-printed scaffolds using conjugated bioresorbable nanocomposites for enhanced bone regeneration

[Display omitted] •Biocompatible polylactic acid and carbon dot (PLA-CD) scaffolds produced by 3D printing.•Plasma treated scaffolds (PLA-CD@P) provided enriched functionalization with oxygen-rich polar groups.•Enhanced nanoroughness and functionalized groups in PLA-CD@P led to superhydrophilicity and cytophilicity.•PLA-CD@P promoted higher cell proliferation, osteogenesis, extracellular matrix mineralization. Scaffolds synthesized from synthetic polymers, though mechanically robust, are hydrophobic in nature, lack sufficient cell attracting cues and are not amenable to monitoring. These drawbacks, however, can be overcome by fabricating a new generation of biocompatible scaffolds with quantum nanoparticle additives and surface functionalization. The objective of the present work was to investigate the enhancement of cellular adhesion, growth, proliferation, differentiation and migration on polymer-based scaffolds. To achieve this, carbon dots (CDs) were melt blended with poly(L-Lactide) acid or PLA, followed by rapid prototyping to generate photoluminescent scaffolds with the advantages of hydrophilicity and built-in monitoring opportunity via two-photon microscopy. Apart from these, cell proliferation and migration aspects in the biological environment are found to be enhanced by oxygen plasma treatment which enables polymer superhydrophilicity. Carbon dots introduces nanoscale roughness, and plasma incorporates hydrophilic oxygen and hydroxyl groups on the scaffolds. After a 7 min plasma treatment, PLA-CD surfaces were found to gain superhydrophilicity (contact angle of 0˚) and cell proliferation increased by 70% relative to the untreated scaffold. Quantitative analysis and bioimaging showed significant increases in ECM mineralization. Thus, the plasma treated PLA-CD composite supports the potential for producing high-performance, monitorable scaffolds for tissue engineering.