Evaluation of sorption capacity of antibiotics and antibacterial properties of a cyclodextrin-polymer functionalized hydroxyapatite-coated titanium hip prosthesis

Abstract Infection still present as one of common complications after total hip replacement (∼2.5%), which may cause serious outcomes. For preventing such risk, loading antibiotics onto implants for increasing local drug concentration at targeted sites could be a solution. This study aims at modifying the surface of hydroxyapatite (HA) coated titanium hip implant material (Ti–HA) with polymer of cyclodextrin (polyCD) for loading antibiotics, to achieve a sustained local drug delivery. Two widely applied antibiotics (tobramycin and rifampicin) in orthopedic surgery were loaded alone or in combination. The drug adsorption isotherm, drug release kinetics and drug’s efficacy were thoroughly investigated. The results proved that polyCD coating significantly improved the affinity of both drugs to Ti–HA surface, while the mechanism of drug–polyCD interaction varies from the nature of drug, courtesy of the structural complex of polyCD. The advantage of dual-drug loading was highlighted by its strong efficacy against both Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter cloacae , which overcomes the limitation of mono-drug loading for an effective treatment against both bacterial strains. The prolonged antibacterial activity of antibiotic loaded Ti–HA-polyCD samples confirmed that polyCD could be a promising drug-delivery system, for sustained antibiotics release or other potential applications e.g ., antimitotic agent release.