Review on smart magnetic polymer scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Bone cancer is a worldwide health concern that has prompted the creation of novel therapeutic strategies. One of the main challenges for bone tissue engineering (BTE) scaffolds is the fabrication of mechanically excellent scaffolds with a high bone-forming performance that gains vascularization and integrates with the host tissues. Recent research has incorporated magnetic scaffolds with magnetic fields to improve tissue regeneration and osteogenesis. Magnetic nanoparticles are effective oncotheranostic agents due to their small size, biodegradability, and compatibility with living organisms. The discussion will explore various strategies for synthesizing magnetic polymeric scaffolds, and the impact of magnetic fields on scaffold characters. Within this review, natural and synthetic biopolymers employed as orthopedic implants will be covered. The methods used to produce polymeric scaffolds are freeze-drying, rapid prototyping, electrospinning, phase separation, gas foaming, solvent casting, and particulate-leaching. This review will cover the challenges of creating magnetic polymer scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration and their properties that enhance the bone regeneration rate. Finally, we discussed the security of magnetic nanoparticles and their biological applications. The demands and prospects for magnetic polymer scaffolds are discussed, focusing on the requirement of further investigation to improve scaffolds towards biocompatible material and translation of these promised magnetic scaffolds into clinical applications.