Osteomyelitis is an inflammatory
bone disease caused by pyogenic bacteria. The advantages of localized biodegradable
therapy for
osteomyelitis include high local
antibiotic concentration at the site of
infection and obviation of the need for removal of the implant
after treatment. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a biodegradable implantable delivery system containing
gatifloxacin (
GAT) for the localized treatment of
osteomyelitis, experimentally induced by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Implants, prepared by
solvent casting technique, showed reasonable tensile strength. DSC examination indicated that
GAT is present in an amorphous form in the implant. The in vitro release of
GAT showed a profile characterized by an initial burst followed by a second stage of gradual delivery over 27 days. The in vivo release study revealed that
GAT concentrations achieved during the first 3 weeks after implantation exceeded the MIC of
GAT against MRSA by > 100,000 times. Bacterial tibial bone count performed in rabbits tibia 2 and 4 weeks after implantation of
GAT implant in infected bone indicated complete eradication of
infection in all treated rabbits as indicated by the significant decrease in bacterial count. The results show that the proposed implant may have a promising role in the therapeutic approach to
osteomyelitis.