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Characterization And Enhancement Of Local Drug Delivery In Orthopaedic Infection, Tina Khazaee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The delivery of antibiotics is an important component of therapy for orthopedic device-related infections (ODRI). In this study, we have investigated new techniques to characterize and enhance antibiotic delivery for ODRI. Characterization of small-molecule diffusion is essential to the development of drug-delivery systems. We have developed a quantitative, non-invasive, longitudinal, micro-CT technique to quantify the diffusion of small-molecules in an intact phantom. We employed a radio-opaque molecule (i.e., Iohexol) as a surrogate for commonly used antibiotics (e.g., Vancomycin). We characterized diffusion from a finite-core carrier into an agar, tissue-equivalent phantom. The estimate of the diffusion coefficient was derived …