Triton X-100, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS), sodium alginate, gentamicin sulphate, sodium acetate trihydrate, phosphate buffer solution (PBS) tablets, o-phthaldialdehyde reagent solution (OPA), piperazine, and 1,6 hexanediol diacrylate were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, UK. Cyclohexane, n-hexanol, ammonium hydroxide (35%), diethyl-ether, di-chloro methane (DCM), ethanol, methanol, glacial acetic acid, and iso-propanol were purchased from Fisher Scientific, UK. All reagents were stored according to manufacturer’s guidelines and used as received. The bone cements brands used were Cemex (Tecres S.p.A., Italy) and Palacos R (Heraeus Medical GmbH, Germany).
Acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer (0.1 M, pH 5) was prepared mixing sodium acetate trihydrate (CH3COONa·3H2O) (0.1 M) and acetic acid (CH3COOH) (0.1 M) solutions 3:7 and stirred, with pH checked and adjusted in the range 5.0 ± 0.1. PBS solution (pH 7.4) was prepared according to manufacturer’s guidelines.
Acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer (0.1 M, pH 5) was prepared mixing sodium acetate trihydrate (CH3COONa·3H2O) (0.1 M) and acetic acid (CH3COOH) (0.1 M) solutions 3:7 and stirred, with pH checked and adjusted in the range 5.0 ± 0.1. PBS solution (pH 7.4) was prepared according to manufacturer’s guidelines.