Osteomyelitis therapy is a long-term and inconvenient procedure for a patient. Antibiotic-loaded bone cements are both a complementary and alternative treatment option to intravenous antibiotic therapy for the treatment of osteomyelitis. In the current study, the biphasic calcium phosphate cement (CPC), called alpha -TCP/HAP ( alpha -tricalcium phosphate/hydroxyapatite) biphasic cement, was prepared as an antibiotics carrier for osteomyelitis. The developed biphasic cement with a microstructure of alpha -TCP surrounding the HAP has a fast setting time which will fulfill the clinical demand. The X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analyses showed the final phase to be HAP, the basic bone mineral, after setting for a period of time. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a porous structure with particle sizes of a few micrometers. The addition of gentamicin in alpha -TCP/HAP would delay the transition of alpha -TCP but would not change the final-phase HAP. The gentamicin-loaded alpha -TCP/HAP supplies high doses of the antibiotic during the initial 24 hours when they are soaked in phosphate buffer solution (PBS). Thereafter, a slower drug release is produced, supplying minimum inhibitory concentration until the end of the experiment (30 days). Studies of growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in culture indicated that gentamicin released after 30 days from alpha -TCP/HAP biphasic cement retained antibacterial activity.
Date:
2013-05
Relation:
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2013 May;2013:Article number 801374.