The local application of antibiotics in combination with timely controlled growth factor delivery might be beneficial for the prevention of infections and to stimulate bone healing. Therefore, in this study a variable sequential drug delivery system with three distinctly different release profiles was developed: i) a burst release of gentamicin, ii) a burst release of IGF-I followed by a sustained release, and iii) a slow sustained release of BMP-2 out of an implant coating. Only one polymer [poly(D,L-lactide)], incorporating gentamicin, IGF-I or BMP-2, was used for two- or three-layer coatings of K-wires. To control the release kinetics, the polymer concentrations in the solvent were varied. The activity of early released gentamicin from a two-layer coating was confirmed microbiologically and BMP-2 stimulated the metabolic activity and alkaline phosphatase activity of C2C12 cells after 2 weeks. From the three-layer coated wires, IGF-I continuously stimulated the cell proliferation, whereas BMP-2 enhanced ALP between 1 and 3 weeks. The sequential release of growth factors revealed an additive effect on the metabolic activity and ALP of primary osteoblast-like cells compared to the single coated controls. The controlled delivery of different factors from one implant might prevent infections and subsequently stimulate the different phases of bone healing.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.