[Nanoparticulate silver. A new antimicrobial substance for bone cement]
V Alt1, T Bechert, P Steinrücke
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Unfallchirurgie der Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen. volker.alt@chiru.med.uni-giessen.de
Background:
Multiresistant bacteria have become an important problem in prosthetic joint infections. Their frequent resistance against gentamicin, which is commonly used in antibiotic-loaded bone cements, makes a new prophylaxis necessary.
Methods:
PMMA-cement was loaded with 1% nanoparticulate silver and its antibacterial activity tested in vitro against gentamicin-resistant MRSE and MRSA strains as well as being compared to the activity of plain and gentamicin-loaded bone cements. A quantitative elution testing was also done to study the potentially cytotoxic effects of NanoSilver cement.
Results:
Unloaded and PMMA-cement loaded with 2% gentamicin did not exhibit any antibacterial activity against MRSE and MRSA. At 1%, NanoSilver cement completely inhibited the proliferation of MRSA and MRSE. NanoSilver bone cement did not show any significant differences compared to the non-toxic control group.
Conclusions:
If these promising in vitro results can be confirmed in vivo, NanoSilver bone cement may be of considerable value in total joint arthroplasty.
