Bioceramics have been developed from bioinert to bioactive or biodegradable materials in the past few decades. However, at present, traditional bioceramics are still mainly used in bone tissue regeneration and dental restoration. In this work, a new generation of "black bioceramics," extending the applications from tissue regeneration to disease
therapy, is presented. Black bioceramics, through
magnesium thermal reduction of traditional white ceramics, including
silicate-based (e.g., CaSiO3 , MgSiO3 ) and
phosphate-based (e.g.,
Ca3 (PO4 )2 , Ca5 (PO4 )3 (
OH)), are successfully synthesized. Due to the presence of
oxygen vacancies and structural defects, the black bioceramics possess photothermal functionality while maintaining their initial high bioactivity and regenerative capacity. These black bioceramics show excellent photothermal antitumor effects for both skin and bone
tumors. At the same time, they have significantly improved bioactivity for skin/bone tissue repair in vitro and in vivo. These fascinating properties award the black bioceramics with profound applications in both
tumor therapy and tissue regeneration, which should greatly promote the scientific relevance and clinical application of bioceramics, representing a promising new direction of cell-instructive
biomaterials.