Biodegradable Monolithic Periodontal Films for Controlled Delivery of Metronidazole to Periodontal Pocket

Abstract

A novel drug delivery system for the treatment of periodontitis was developed for siteâ€specific delivery of metronidazole (MTZ) which has excellent activity against anaerobic microorganisms. The calibration curve for MTZ was developed in pH 6.6 phosphate buffer at 287.6 nm in the range of 2 to 14 μg/ml. MTZ films were prepared by solvent casting technique using ethyl cellulose and other copolymers in chloroform: dichloromethane (1:1) solvent with dibutyl phthalate and PEG 400 as plasticizers. FTâ€IR and UV spectroscopic methods revealed no interaction between MTZ and polymers. The films were evaluated for their thickness uniformity, folding endurance, weight uniformity, content uniformity, tensile strength, surface pH, and in vitro antibacterial activity. In vitro release from films was fit to different equations and kinetic models to reveal release kinetics. Kinetic models were studied for zero order, firstâ€order equations, and Hixsonâ€Crowell and Higuchi models. Formulation F2 released 99.74% of drug at the end of tenth day and was considered as best formulation. A shortâ€term stability study shows that drug content decreased in various films and was ranging from 0.8% to 3.02%.