The effect of porosity on drug release kinetics from vancomycin microsphere/calcium phosphate cement composites

The influence of porosity on release profiles of antibiotics from calcium phosphate composites was investigated to optimize the duration of treatment. We hypothesized, that by the encapsulation of vancomycin‐HCl into biodegradable microspheres prior admixing to calcium phosphate bone cement, the influence of porosity of the cement matrix on vancomycin release could be reduced. Encapsulation of vancomycin into a biodegradable poly(lactic co ‐glycolic acid) copolymer (PLGA) was performed by spray drying; drug‐loaded microparticles were added to calcium phosphate cement (CPC) at different powder to liquid ratios ( P/L ), resulting in different porosities of the cement composites. The effect of differences in P/L ratio on drug release kinetics was compared for both the direct addition of vancomycin‐HCl to the cement liquid and for cement composites modified with vancomycin‐HCl‐loaded microspheres. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to visualize surface and cross section morphology of the different composites. Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller‐plots (BET) was used to determine the specific surface area and pore size distribution of these matrices. It could be clearly shown, that variations in P/L ratio influenced both the porosity of cement and vancomycin release profiles. Antibiotic activity during release study was successfully measured using an agar diffusion assay. However, vancomycin‐HCl encapsulation into PLGA polymer microspheres decreased porosity influence of cement on drug release while maintaining antibiotic activity of the embedded substance. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2011.