Gentamicin bone cements: characterisation and release (in vitro and in vivo assays)

Due to the extended use of acrylic bone cements, its necessary to develop improved formulations in order to resolve their many drawbacks. The present work was conducted to make a physical-chemical characterisation of this kind of acrylic cement in order to introduce future changes in the formulations to: (1) improve or at least maintain their mechanical properties; (2) diminish their toxicity, and (3) control the drug release (rate and amount). From the dissolution method we can conclude that the preparation method (with or without pressure) of specimens is not responsible for the erratic release. The cumulative amount of gentamicin released was fitted to a semi-empirical equation to explain the possible release mechanism. The powder size, shape and distribution that could affect several properties of bone cement were studied with the aid of different techniques such as SEM, laser diffraction spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. From SEM micrographs, it was possible to observe that the surfaces of the specimens were very irregular with numerous small craters that may serve as conduits for eluting the antibiotic. An 'in vitro' drug diffusion model is proposed to elucidate the drug release mechanism. Finally an 'in vivo' study was performed to evaluate the antibiotic release to the neighbouring bone sites.