Injectable pregelatinized corn starch reinforced calcium sulfate cement for bone defect repair

•Pregelatinized corn starch was used to reinforce CSC for the first time.•Pregelatinized corn starch improved the injectability, anti-collapsibility, setting time, and compressive strength of CSC.•CSC/Starch can platform for controlled drug release and bone defect repair. As a classical bone repair material, clinical application of calcium sulfate cement (CSC) is challenged by its susceptibility to collapse, rapid setting, and poor mechanical properties. To address the above issues, this study for the first time added pregelatinized corn starch to CSC and studied the effect of different pregelatinized starch contents on its properties. The results showed that compared with pure CSC, the injectability and anti-collapsibility of CSC reinforced with pregelatinized corn starch were significantly improved. Besides, the final setting time of CSC was doubled when 20 wt% pregelatinized starch was used, along with compressive strength increased from approximately 17.91 to 31 MPa. In vitro antibiotic release and cell studies revealed the presence of pregelatinized starch could provide a more sustained drug release in the absence of CSC biocompatibility reduction. All these findings suggested the potential of pregelatinized corn starch as a reinforcement agent in CSC, making it more adaptable to bone defect repair.