Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
A process has been developed which permits the encapsulation of an established class of platinum anticancer drugs such as cis-Platin (cis-diammine-dichloroplatinum (II)) within synthetic biocompatible calcium phosphate films that are electrochemically-grown on porous Si/Si substrates. These platinum complex-doped hydroxyapatite / porous Si / Si materials have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (XEDS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Upon immersion of these structures into aqueous media, the desired platinum species can be released into the surrounding environment. This study also focuses on the influence of initial platinum concentration for a given complex in the deposition process on the rate and resultant amount of platinum complex that can be delivered to the surroundings in vitro. Both inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy and uv-visible absorption spectrometry have been employed to monitor the release of the encapsulated drug from the calcium phosphate layers.