Core decompression (CD) is a common surgical intervention in treating early-stage osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), helping reduce intraosseous pressure and re-establish blood flow. The additional treatment option using a scaffold is used to achieve a better therapeutic outcome after operating CD. However, the bone scaffolds have not been reported that can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation which lead to exacerbation of ONFH progress. Herein, we introduce an antioxidant-coated whitlockite bone scaffold. This scaffold has excellent osteoconductivity by using a synthetic bone graft material, and the antioxidant–catechol quinone group coated on the surface reduces oxidative stress by scavenging ROS and lowers the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our findings from the implantation of scaffold after CD in a rabbit steroid-induced ONFH model, confirmed that the antioxidant coating provided successful bone regeneration potential and anti-inflammation effect. The antioxidant coating suppresses the inflammatory response at the post-CD lesion, thereby improving the treatment of steroid-induced ONFH.

髓芯减压 (CD) 是治疗早期股骨头坏死 (ONFH) 的常见手术干预措施，有助于降低骨内压并重建血流。使用支架的额外治疗方案用于在 CD 手术后获得更好的治疗效果。然而，目前尚未有报道称骨支架可以减少导致ONFH进展加剧的氧化应激和炎症。在这里，我们介绍了一种抗氧化剂涂层的白铁矿骨支架。该支架采用合成骨移植材料，具有优异的骨传导性，表面涂覆的抗氧化剂儿茶酚醌基团可通过清除ROS来减少氧化应激，并降低促炎细胞因子的表达。我们在兔类固醇诱导的 ONFH 模型中 CD 后植入支架的结果证实，抗氧化涂层提供了成功的骨再生潜力和抗炎作用。抗氧化剂涂层可抑制 CD 后病变处的炎症反应，从而改善类固醇诱导的 ONFH 的治疗。