Validation and in vitro characterization of antibiotic-loaded bone cement release

Antibiotic-loaded polymeric bone cement is used in orthopedic surgery to de liver local high concentrations of antibiotics to the tissues. The precise mechanism by which antibiotic is released from the polymeric matrix is stil l not very well known. This research was conducted to investigate the in vi tro drug release behavior of antibiotic from acrylic bone cement. A spectro photometric method for the quantitative analysis of gentamicin sulfate usin g o-phtaldialdehyde as a derivatizing reagent was thoroughly validated, in order to assure a minimum quality level of the measures. The method proved to be quick, reliable, less expensive than methods such as polarization flu orescence immunoassay and others, and therefore more convenient for the rou tine analysis of the numerous samples generated during in vitro liberation assays. The release of gentamicin from commercial CMW1(R) acrylic bone ceme nt samples was investigated following proposed in vitro release experiments . (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.