Antibiotic delivery polyurethanes containing albumin and polyallylamine nanoparticles

Nano-structured polymers delivering an antibiotic for the prevention of medical device-related infections were developed. Systems consisted of bovine serum albumin or polyallylamine nanoparticles alone or entrapped in a polyurethane and then loaded with cefamandole nafate, chosen as a drug model. Results showed that nanoparticles alone were able to adsorb high antibiotic amounts due to their high surface/volume ratio. However, they released cefamandole in an uncontrolled fashion, leading to a rapid loss of antibacterial activity. Improvements in the release control were obtained when CEF loaded and non-loaded nanoparticles were entrapped in a carboxylated polyurethane. For these systems the drug delivery was at least of 50% with respect to nanoparticles alone with a prolonged antimicrobial activity up to 9 days.