The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 62, Issue 7 1168-1175, Copyright © 1980 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
The transcapillary passage and interstitial fluid concentration of penicillin in canine bone
JD Bloom, RH Fitzgerald, JA Washington and PJ Kelly
Using [14C] benzyl penicillin, we determined the ability of penicillin to
cross capillary membranes in the tibiae of dogs, the degree of
protein-binding of penicillin in serum and tibial bone tissue, and the
concentration of penicillin in the interstitial fluid space of tibial bone.
Extraction studies demonstrated that the capillary membranes in bone were
readily traversed by benzyl penicillin. Penicillin concentrations in filed
cortical and crushed cancellous bone samples, measured by both isotopic and
biological assays, ranged from 1.0 to 8.7 per cent of the simultaneous
concentrations of penicillin in plasma. Twenty-one per cent of the
penicillin in plasma was protein-bound, while 39 per cent of the penicillin
in cortical bone was tissue-bound and not biologically active. Studies of
the distribution of benzyl penicillin showed that it was distributed in
equal concentrations in the plasma and in the interstitial fluid spaces of
bone. The concentration of biologically active penicillin in the
interstitial fluid spaces of bone correlated closely with the
simultaneously observed plasma level in animals in which a steady-state
equilibrium had been achieved.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Technorati What's this?
