Assay method for polymer-controlled antibiotic release from allograft bone to target orthopaedic infections - biomed...

To mitigate and circumvent orthopaedic-associated infection, systematic oral and parenteral antibiotic therapy is often used; however, efficacy is limited due to dosing, systemic side-effects, patient compliance, effective delivery, treatment length, and resistant bacteria. A more effective method may be sustained local drug delivery of antibiotics at the wound site, using delivery vehicles that control release rates. In the case of bone for example, this could be clinically familiar bone graft. Unfortunately, without a rate-control strategy, local antibiotic delivery from allograft displays a prominent burst release: a large amount of drug payload is released as a bolus within 72 hours and depleted. Although his offers effective immediate killing, persitor bacteria remain an infection risk. Notably, drug resistance is a problem at reduced antibiotic levels. To allow better local dosing modulation, a degradable polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer allograft coating is used to modulate local delivery of the antibiotic, tobramycin. This polymer/antibiotic hybrid coats the porous structure of the cancellous bone graft, providing a substantial drug reservoir and allowing controlled release of antibiotic over extended time. PCL/tobramycin-coated bone fragments of different PCL molecular weights and variable drug loads are assayed in vitro for drug release. Tobramycin concentration is determined based on derivatization of its 5 primary amine groups with a fluorescent reagent, phthaldialdehyde (OPA). Tobramycin concentrations in release media can be calculated based on a standard curve with a reasonable accuracy and dynamic range.