ABSTRACT
Drug slow release in osteomyelitis treatment is an important biomedical problem, to prepare the high effect drug sustained-release bead is the sticking point. A sustained-release bead system consisting of gentamicin sulfate in biodegradable poly(dimer acid-tetradecandioic acid) copolymer [P(DA-TA), WDA: WTA= 50: 50] is prepared by melt casting which may be useful in osteomyelitis treatment. The stability at room temperature and the in vitro release profile in distilling water, in 0.9% saline buffer and in 0.1 mol/LpH7.4 PBS at 37 degrees C of the bead are determined, the drug release behavior in vitro follows the first order release kinetics and Peppas release kinetics equation. In vitro bacteriostatic activity studies demonstrated that the beads possessed desired bacteriostatic activity and lasted for 50 days for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, which are common bacteria for infections in bone. All the above suggest that the biodegradable sustained-release beads may be a new treatment device for osteomyelitis treatment.