Sodium fusidate loaded apatitic calcium phosphates: Adsorption behavior, release kinetics, antibacterial efficacy, and cytotoxicity assessment

Abstract

The present work reports the adsorption, release, antibacterial properties, and in vitro cytotoxicity of sodium fusidate (SF) associated with a carbonated calcium phosphate bone cement. The adsorption study of SF on cement powder compared to stoichiometric hydroxyapatite and nanocrystalline carbonated apatite was investigated to understand the interaction between this antibiotic and the calcium phosphate phases involved in the cement formulation and setting reaction. The adsorption data revealed a fast kinetic process. However, the evolution of the amount of adsorbed SF was well described by a Freundlich-type isotherm characterized by a low adsorption capacity of the materials toward the SF molecule. The in vitro release results indicated a prolonged and controlled SF release for up to 34 days. The SF amounts eluted daily were at a therapeutic level (0.5–2 mg/L) and close to the antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentration (0.1–0.9 mg/L). Furthermore, the release data fitting and modeling suggested that the drug release occurred mainly by a diffusion mechanism. The antibacterial activity showed the effectiveness of SF released from the formulated cements against Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, the biological in vitro study demonstrated that the tested cements didn’t show any cytotoxicity towards human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and did not significantly induce inflammation markers like IL-8.