Behaviour of an injectable calcium phosphate cement with added tetracycline

A calcium phosphate cement containing an antibiotic can be used for filling bone defects and to ensure local antibiotherapy. A calcium phosphate cement (already marketed under the name of Cementek(R)) can become injectable thanks to the addition of silicone. For dental applications, the behaviour of this injectable cement with added tetracycline was investigated. The tetracycline hydrochloride does not allow maturation of the cement: the tetracycline has to be treated with a calcium sulphate solution. The treated tetracycline (TTC) allowed maturation of the cement towards hydroxyapatite. But the setting time was longer and the mechanical properties decreased. Study in a continuous flow cell showed that the tetracycline is released in a continuous manner: thus. after 6 days, 60% of the antibiotic was released into the surrounding medium. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.