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. 2021 Nov 19;14(22):7031.
doi: 10.3390/ma14227031.

Additives Imparting Antimicrobial Properties to Acrylic Bone Cements

Alina Robu  1 , Aurora Antoniac  1 , Elena Grosu  1 , Eugeniu Vasile  2 , Anca Daniela Raiciu  3   4 , Florin Iordache  5 , Vasile Iulian Antoniac  1   6 , Julietta V Rau  7   8 , Viktoriya G Yankova  8 , Lia Mara Ditu  9 , Vicentiu Saceleanu  10
Affiliations

Additives Imparting Antimicrobial Properties to Acrylic Bone Cements

Alina Robu et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

PMMA bone cements are mainly used to fix implanted prostheses and are introduced as a fluid mixture, which hardens over time. The problem of infected prosthesis could be solved due to the development of some new antibacterial bone cements. In this paper, we show the results obtained to develop four different modified PMMA bone cements by using antimicrobial additives, such as gentamicin, peppermint oil incorporated in hydroxyapatite, and silver nanoparticles incorporated in a ceramic glass matrix (2 and 4%). The structure and morphology of the modified bone cements were investigated by SEM and EDS. We perform experimental measurements on wettability, hydration degree, and degradation degree after immersion in simulated body fluid. The cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay using the human MG-63 cell line. Antimicrobial properties were checked against standard strains Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. The addition of antimicrobial agents did not significantly affect the hydration and degradation degree. In terms of biocompatibility assessed by the MTT test, all experimental PMMA bone cements are biocompatible. The performance of bone cements with peppermint essential oil and silver nanoparticles against these two pathogens suggests that these antibacterial additives look promising to be used in clinical practice against bacterial infection.

Keywords: PMMA bone cements; antimicrobial properties; gentamicin; peppermint essential oil; silver nanoparticles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the modified PMMA bone cements preparation procedure with antibacterial properties.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representative SEM images and corresponding EDS spectra obtained from the highlighted areas of the experimental samples: (a) R sample; (b) GM sample; (c) HUM sample; (d) AM1 sample; (e) AM2 sample.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representative SEM images and corresponding EDS spectra obtained from the highlighted areas of the experimental samples: (a) R sample; (b) GM sample; (c) HUM sample; (d) AM1 sample; (e) AM2 sample.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Surface wettability of the investigated bone cement samples determined by the measurements of the contact angle with distilled water, DIM, and EG.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Variation of hydration degree over a period of 21 days in distilled water, at 37 °C, for experimental bone cements samples.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Morphological aspects revealed by SEM and elemental surface analysis by EDS of the samples after 21 days in distilled water.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Variation of degradation rate over a period of 28 days in SBF, at 37 °C, for experimental PMMA bone cements.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Morphological aspects revealed by SEM and elemental surface analysis by EDS of the experimental PMMA bone cements after 28 days in SBF.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Antibacterial property evaluation for the experimental PMMA bone cements: (a) growth inhibition zone for Gram-positive strain Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 2592; (b) growth inhibition zone for Gram-negative strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, after 72 h of incubation.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Contact of experimental PMMA bone cements towards Candida albicans ATCC 10231.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Graphical representation of CFU/mL values evaluating the ability of the tested strains to adhere and to develop monospecific biofilm in 24, 48, and 72h, on the surface of the experimental PMMA bone cements.
Figure 11
Figure 11
MTT assay showing the viability of MG-63 cells in the presence of the experimental PMMA bone cements after 24, 48, and 72 h.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Fluorescence images of MG-63 cells coloured with CMTPX fluorophore in the presence of experimental PMMA bone cements.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Alizarin Red assay showing the osteogenic potential of experimental PMMA bone cements on MG-63 cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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