Antibiotic elution and mechanical property of TiO₂ nanotubes functionalized PMMA-based bone cements

To overcome the disadvantage of current antibiotic bone cements with low drug elution efficiency, the hollow nanostructured titanium-dioxide (TiO₂) nanotubes (TNTs) were formulated with antibiotic loaded bone cement to create nano diffusion networks, enabling enhanced release of antibiotic. By incorporation of TNTs into Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) based bone cement, more than 50% of loaded antibiotic (such as gentamicin or vancomycin) could be released in two months. As comparison, only about 5% of total drug release was achieved in the absence of TNTs. The mechanical properties of PMMA-based bone cements were well preserved after incorporation of TNTs. Furthermore, the compression strength and bending modules of TNTs formulated antibiotic bone cements could be maintained after the drug release for 70 days or aging in PBS buffer for 3 months. The insoluble TNTs in bone cement is believed to support the mechanical properties after wet aging.