Chapters authored
Hydroxyapatite-Based Materials for Potential Use in Bone Tissue Infections
Hydroxyapatite materials, due to their high biocompatibility, play a crucial role in orthopaedics and bone surgery as alternatives to autologous bone grafts. It was also found that coatings of metallic implants with hydroxyapatite layer improve significantly their osseointegration. Due to its bioactivity, osteoconductivity and non-toxicity, hydroxyapatite is also widely used as a component of hybrid biomaterials. The implantation of “foreign” materials brings one major concern that is the risk of potential bone tissue infections or chronic osteomyelitis. In turn, the main problem concerning bacterial infection treatment is to obtain an adequate, bactericidal drug concentration maintained for a sufficient period of time in the bone tissue. Therefore, recent developments of materials engineering are focused on delivery antibiotics directly into the affected bone. To achieve this goal, hydroxyapatite-based materials are frequently studied as carriers for antibacterial drugs. For effective support of antibiotic therapy, the antibacterial activity of certain ions (including silver, zinc or copper) may be applied. In our work, we present recent developments on ceramic materials for bacterial bone infections: hydroxyapatite-based carriers for antibiotics and modifications of hydroxyapatite with antibacterial ions. In this review, state-of-the-art and current applications of such materials are presented and discussed. We want to also present our recent results.
Part of the book: Hydroxyapatite