Antimicrobial PMMA Bone Cement Containing Long Releasing Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) ensued from total joint replacement (TJR) pose a severe threat to patients that involve poor health outcomes, severe pain, death (in severe cases), and negative influence patients’ quality of life. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) is frequently used for the prevention and treatment of PJI. This work aims to study gentamicin release from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) incorporated in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) bone cement to prolong release over several weeks to provide prophylaxis from PJIs after surgery. Different CNT concentrations were tested with the presence of gentamicin as a powder or preloaded onto carboxyl functionalized CNTs. The different types of bone cement were tested for drug release, mechanical properties, water uptake, antimicrobial properties, and cytocompatibility with human osteoblast cells (MTT, LDH, alizarin red, and morphology). Results showed prolonged release of gentamicin from CNT-loaded bone cements over several weeks compared to gentamicin-containing bone cement. Additionally, the presence of CNT enhanced the percentage of gentamicin released without adversely affecting the nanocomposite mechanical and antimicrobial properties needed for performance. Cytotoxicity testing showed non-inferior performance of the CNT-containing bone cement to the equivalent powder containing cement. Therefore, the developed nanocomposites may serve as a novel PMMA bone cement to prevent PJIs.