The periosteum orchestrates the microenvironment of bone regeneration, including facilitating local neuro-vascularization and regulating immune responses. To mimic the role of natural periosteum for bone repair enhancement, we adopted the principle of biomimetic mineralization to delicately inlay amorphous cerium oxide within eggshell membranes (ESMs) for the first time. Cerium from cerium oxide possesses unique ability to switch its oxidation state from cerium III to cerium IV and vice versa, which provides itself promising potential for biomedical applications. ESMs are mineralized with cerium(III, IV) oxide and examined for their biocompatibility. Apart from serving as physical barriers, periosteum-like cerium(III, IV) oxide-mineralized ESMs are biocompatible and can actively regulate immune responses and facilitate local neuro-vascularization along with early-stage bone regeneration in a murine cranial defect model. During the healing process, cerium-inlayed biomimetic periosteum can boost early osteoclastic differentiation of macrophage lineage cells, which may be the dominant mediator of the local repair microenvironment. The present work provides novel insights into expanding the definition and function of a biomimetic periosteum to boost early-stage bone repair and optimize long-term repair with robust neuro-vascularization. This new treatment strategy which employs multifunctional bone-and-periosteum-mimicking systems creates a highly concerted microenvironment to expedite bone regeneration.
Keywords: biomimetic periosteum; biomineralization; bone regeneration; cerium(III, IV) oxide; repair microenvironment.