In this work, we developed the first 3D-printed polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-based bone scaffold with multi-functions targeting challenging bone diseases such as osteosarcoma and osteomyelitis. A 3D-printed PEEK/graphene nanocomposite scaffold was deposited with a drug-laden (antibiotics and/or anti-cancer drugs) hydroxyapatite coating. The graphene nanosheets within the scaffold served as effective photothermal agents that endowed the scaffold with on-demand photothermal conversion function under near-infrared laser irradiation. The bioactive hydroxyapatite coating significantly boosted the stem cell proliferation in vitro and promoted new bone growth in vivo. The presence of antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs enabled eradication of drug-resistant bacteria and ablation of osteosarcoma cancer cells, the treatment efficacy of which can be further enhanced by on-demand laser-induced heating. The promising results demonstrate the strong potential of our multi-functional scaffold in applications such as bone defect repair and multimodal treatment of osteosarcoma and osteomyelitis.

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Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and its composites have been widely used in orthopedics and trauma. In this work, a bioactive calcium carbonate (CaCO3) coating incorporated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is coated on the conductive PEEK/graphene nanocomposite (P/G) through electrophoretic deposition (EPD) by pumping CO2 to provide tiny amount of CO32− groups for reacting with Ca2+, the obtained sample is named as Ca/Ag@P/G. The morphology, structure, and surface chemistry of the fabricated Ca/Ag@P/G are characterized by means of SEM‐EDS, XRD, XPS, as well as water contact angle testing, and the results confirm that the mixture coating composed of CaCO3 and AgNPs is less crystalline and more hydrophilic than the single CaCO3 coating on P/G (namely Ca@P/G). The Ca/Ag@P/G exhibits desirable antibacterial ability against both S. aureus and E. coli with the bactericidal rate of 99.9% and 96.7%, respectively, meanwhile it displays excellent biocompatibility with improved cell spread and proliferation. Moreover, the incorporation of graphene nanosheets endows Ca/Ag@P/G with great photothermal conversion effect, which is favorable to enhancing osteogenesis capability and synergistically killing/prohibiting bacteria/tumor cells. The multifunctional Ca/Ag@P/G composite has a promising prospect in the potential applications for infectious/tumorous bone repair applications.