Biodegradable drug delivery system for the treatment of bone infection and repair

A drug delivery system (DDS) which provides a sustained release of antibiotics at the focal site either singly, or in combination with a bone stimulating factor could both eliminate infection and increase the number of potentially healthy osteogenic cells. In this study, we address the use of a degradable gelatin DDS, for the combined release of therapeutic levels of both gentamicin and growth hormone (GH). An initial bolus release was observed during the first 24 h followed by a reduced, but sustained, release for both drugs up to 14 days. Bioactivity of gentamicin was demonstrated by growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus for over 96 h with a mean zone of inhibition of 29.4 mm (±0.19) for the time period studied. Furthermore, GH was shown to have a direct effect on primary human osteoblast-like (HOB) cells, stimulating proliferation and enhancing their differentiation. Site-specific drug delivery offers the advantage of localizing a drug directly at the target site, thus minimizing systemic effects. The results of this study suggest that gelatin is a good DDS for the combined release of drugs. In addition, gelatin is both biocompatible and biodegradable, thus making it a promising DDS for the management of acute and chronic bone and tissue infection such as osteomyelitis. © 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers