In vitro study of the gentamicin absorption and release in chitosan beads

• Grant number: 14/09614-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2014
• End date: July 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Renata Gebara Sampaio Dória
• Grantee: Yasmin Najm Bortoletto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Among the orthopedic conditions that affect horses, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and cellulitis may be cited as the most important, due to the high occurrence and the possible subsequent impairment in horses' performance. There are different types of treatment, but none of them, until this moment, is described as excellent for complete resolution of the problem. The main types of traditional treatment for orthopedic infections are systemic antimicrobial therapy, intra-articular administration of antibiotics and intravenous regional perfusion with antibiotics. In this study, chitosan beads impregnated with gentamicin are tested, in vitro, for drug release and absorption, and also its form of degradation, over the time, with or without gentamicin. The tests will be conducted by UV-vis and swelling test, respectively. The in vitro bactericidal behavior of chitosan beads impregnated with gentamicin will also be evaluated. In this study, the possibility of development of an alternative type of treatment for orthopedic infections that affect horses will be studied, aiming to prepare in vitro a chitosan implant impregnated with gentamicin and study its behavior, aiming to test it clinically (in vivo) in horses.