Antibiotic in vivo/in vitro release, histocompatibility and biodegradation of gentamicin implants based on lactic acid polymers and copolymers

Abstract Biodegradable implants containing 10 mg of gentamicin each were prepared by compressing the polymer-drug mixture. The liberation of gentamicin from the implants and the biodegradation of the implants were investigated by following in vitro and in vivo experiments. Implants based on pure poly( l -lactic acid) (L-PLA) released the incorporated antibiotic throughout 30 days with a decreasing delivery rate. During the first 24 h L-PLA implants released a total amount of 3600 μg gentamicin. Within 14 days the release rate had decreased to about 12 μg/day. The release profile of implants based on dl -lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer (RG 502) was completely different. About 1900 μg wer…