High-performance liquid chromatography assay of N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine released from bone cements: evidence for toxicity.

Five commercially available bone cements were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography for detecting the residual content of an accelerator, the amine N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine (DMPT), after curing. It was found that the concentration of DMPT in aqueous extracts decreases with time, being almost absent 7 days after curing. Differences were noticed among the cements; residual DMPT is higher in cements prepared with higher content of the amine. It is verified that DMPT's toxic effect on cell cultures is dose-related; a delay in the cell replication cycle is induced in vitro. Damage is reversible, thus justifying the low bone cement toxicity that is clinically ascertained.