Fig. 1

Study strategy and characterization of the candidate scaffolds. a The flowchart of this study (created with Biorender.com). MSC, mesenchymal stem cells; OB, osteoblasts. b Photographs of GelMA, CTS, and PLA in dry and wet conditions. c SEM displaying the microstructures of GelMA, CTS, and PLA. d EDS elemental mapping of carbon (C), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N) elements in the corresponding SEM images. The pie charts and the numbers in the images display the elemental proportions. Frequency sweeps (e, storage modulus G’ vs frequency) and mechanical cycle testing (f) of GelMA, CTS, and PLA scaffolds. g Comprehensive performance of each scaffold. In the radar chart evaluation, multiple criteria including (relative) cell adhesion, biocompatibility, (relative) modulus, thermal stability, and (relative) mechanical stability were considered to compare the performance of each scaffold