Bioactive and biocompatible porous scaffold materials with adjustable pore structures and drug delivery capability are one of the key elements in bone tissue engineering. In this work, bioactive and biocompatible sodium alginate (SA)/hydroxyapatite (HAP) macroporous scaffolds are facilely and effectively fabricated based on 3D printing of the pre‐crosslinked SA/HAP hydrogels followed by further crosslinking to improve the mechanical properties of scaffolds. The pore structures and porosity (>80%) of the porous scaffolds can be readily tailored by varying the formation conditions. Furthermore, the in vitro biomineralization tests show that the bioactivity of the porous scaffolds is effectively enhanced by the addition of HAP nanoparticles into the scaffold matrix. Furthermore, the anti‐inflammatory drug curcumin is loaded into the porous scaffolds and the in vitro release study shows the sustainable drug release function of the porous scaffolds. Moreover, mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells (mBMSCs) are cultured on the porous scaffolds, and the results of the in vitro biocompatibility experiment show that the mBMSCs can be adhered well on the porous scaffolds. All of the results suggest that the bioactive and biocompatible SA/HAP porous scaffolds have great application potential in bone tissue engineering.

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Polylactic acid (PLA) has become a popular polymer material due to its superior biocompatibility. At present, there are a few relevant research on heterogeneous bone powder. Besides, the poor dispersibility and adhesivity of inorganic particles in the organic phase remains a problem. In this study, the pork bone powders were modified with N-butanol to improve its dispersibility and compatibility in the PLA matrix. In addition, polybutylene succinate-coterephthalates (PBSA) was applied as a flexibilizer to further reinforce the mechanical properties of materials. The composite filaments with a diameter of 1.75 ± 0.05 mm containing 10 wt% of modified bone powder, 10 wt% PBSA and 80 wt% PLA were prepared by a melt blending method. The obtained results showed that modified particles were uniformly dispersed within the PLA matrix and improved the mechanical properties of the composite filaments with a tensile strength of 48.5 ± 0.2 MPa and a bending strength of 79.1 ± 0.1 MPa and a notch impact strength of 15.8 ± 0.3 kJ/m 2. And the prepared composite materials contained low cytotoxicity, high biocompatibility and printability, which verified the feasibility of it in 3D printing personalized bone repair applications. This provides a theoretical basis for further research on the effect of bone repair in vivo. Therefore, the composite material will have potential applications such as making customized bones and bone scaffolds by three dimensional printing technology.

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Biocompatible porous scaffolds with adjustable pore structures, appropriate mechanical properties and drug loading properties are important components of bone tissue engineering.