The effect of glutaraldehyde on hydroxyapatite-gelatin composite with addition of alendronate for bone filler application

Based on data from Indonesian Health Ministry in 2009, osteoporosis case reached 19.7% of the populations in Indonesia, especially women in menopause period. The treatment was performed by consuming bisphosphonate drugs per oral which was not effective since the absorption intake of the drug was only less than 55% of the intake dosage. Because of that, the bone filler which also has a function as drug delivery system was developed. The hydroxyapatite-gelatin bone filler with the addition of alendronate was studied. To increase the characteristics of this bone filler, glutaraldehyde was introduced in the composite as a crosslinking agent. The concentration of 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75% were used. The bone filler was then characterized based on FTIR test, morphology test, compressive strength test, cytotoxicity test, and degradation test. The FTIR result showed that there was no significant difference between the sample with and without glutaraldehyde since the crosslinking bond of glutaraldehyde and gelatin was C=N bond which also presented in the gelatin. The morphology of the samples depicted a bigger pore size for higher glutaraldehyde concentration which also supported by lower compressive strength. All the samples were non-toxic based on the cytotoxicity test which had cell viability more than 100%. The degradation tests showed that with the presence of glutaraldehyde in the bone filler could maintain its form longer than the bone filler without glutaraldehyde. In conclusion, the presence of glutaraldehyde could increase the characteristics of the hydroxyapatite-gelatin composite with the addition of alendronate as a bone filler candidate for osteoporotic bone.