Decellularized bone scaffolds were obtained from human trabecular femoral head specimens (permission number: 187/18, University of Wuerzburg ethics committee), as previously described in.25 (link),45 (link) Briefly, freshly thawed samples (kept at −20°C for no more than 4 months after surgery) were precisely cut in 3 mm thick slides using an electric diamond band saw (300 Exakt D64, Walter Messner, Germany) to ensure homogeneous penetration of washing solutions through the complete sample volume. Blood and residual fat material were removed by several washing cycles in water and a chloroform (288306, Sigma-Aldrich) and methanol (8388.6, Carl-Roth) mix solution. Further decalcification of bone slices was achieved by incubation for several days in 2.5% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA, E5134, Sigma-Aldrich) in 10 mM Tris-base (T6066, Sigma-Aldrich), from where cylindrical constructs with a diameter of 5 mm were shaped using a biopsy punch (05.SF004, Stiefel, Germany). Complete decellularization of bone samples was achieved by enzymatic treatment with 100 Units/mL DNase and finalized with lyophilization (Martin Christ, Alpha 1–2 LDplus, Germany) for 4 days under a vacuum pressure of 1 mbar. Processed bone scaffolds were stored at −20°C. For sterilization, scaffolds were incubated with 70% ethanol 1 day before cell seeding.