Abstract
Aseptic loosening is the most common complication of joint replacement. Previous studies showed that acrylic bone cement loaded with a commercially-available alendronate powder (APAC) had good promise against wear debris-mediated osteolysis for prevention of aseptic loosening. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of adding alendronate powder to an acrylic bone cement on quasi-static mechanical properties (namely, compressive strength, compressive modulus, tensile strength, and flexural strength), fatigue life, porosity, and microstructure of the cement. The results showed that adding up to 1 wt./wt.% alendronate powder exerted no detrimental effect on any of the quasi-static mechanical properties. However, the fatigue life of APAC decreased by between ~17% and ~27 % and its porosity increased by between ~ 5-7 times compared with corresponding values for the control cement (no alendronate powder added). Fatigue life was negatively and significantly correlated with porosity. Considering that fatigue life of the cement plays a significant role in joint replacement survival, clinical use of APAC cannot be recommended.