Controlled Release of Antibiotics from Spray Dried Microspheres in Calcium Phosphate Bone Cement Composites for the Treatment of Bone Infections

The aim of this thesis was to develop and characterize local drug delivery formulations composed of calcium phosphate bone cement, modified with biodegradable microspheres for the treatment and prevention of bone infections. The opening chapter gives a general overview regarding bone infections and common treatment strategies to give a general overview. Some facts on bone morphology and histology will be introduced for comperison. The idea to use local drug delivery systems consisting of biodegradable polymers and calcium phosphate based cement matrices for the treatment of bone diseases, will be briefly discussed. In Chapter 2, microencapsulation of antibiotics using different technologies will be explained in-depth, especially the spray drying method, which was the focus of this thesis.