抄録
Porous calcium hydroxyapatite ceramics were developed as a new delivery system for the sustained release of bioactive agents. The slow release of several agents such as antibiotics, anticancer drugs, and cytokines using this system has been confirmed in in vitro experiments. It has also been shown that the solubility of agents plays an important role in the pattern of release. When this system was implanted into normal back muscle or bone, sustained release of drugs was observed during a several-week period after implantation. The slow release of antibiotics from this system has been effective for the treatment of experimentally produced ostemyelitis. In clinical application the system appears to be effective for treatment of chronic ostemyelitis. The drug delivery system with anticancer drugs and some cytokines placed into experimental tumors demonstrated significant tumor growth inhibition. This new system over comes the disadvantages of other drug delivery system, avoiding thermal damage to the drugs and a second operation for the removal of the carrier. Some mechanical strength is provided by the ceramic, may be beneficial to application for bone surgery.
