• S Garner and M E Barbour.
• Oral Nanoscience, School of Oral and Dental Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
• Oral Dis. 2015 Jul 1; 21 (5): 641-4.

ObjectivesChlorhexidine (CHX) is in widespread use as a topical antimicrobial agent. Within the field of oral medicine, it is used in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia as well as in the treatment of oral candidosis and microbial-associated lichenoid reactions. The objective of this study was to develop a strategy for controlled, sustained topical delivery of CHX using nanoparticle technology.MethodsChlorhexidine was applied to hydroxyapatite, selected as a tooth analogue, as conventional CHX digluconate solutions and as aqueous suspensions of CHX hexametaphosphate nanoparticles with total CHX concentrations of 1, 2.2 and 5 mM. Soluble CHX release from the treated hydroxyapatite was monitored over a period of 7 days.ResultsA repeated-measures ANOVA with post hoc LSD test indicated that CHX release was 2-3× greater, and sustained for longer, when CHX was delivered as CHX hexametaphosphate nanoparticles than in aqueous solution with 2.2 and 5 mM CHX (P = 0.020 and 0.013, respectively), but there was no statistically significant difference at 1 mM CHX (P = 0.172).ConclusionsChlorhexidine hexametaphosphate nanoparticles increased both the local dose and duration of soluble CHX delivery when applied to hydroxyapatite surfaces. This may provide a means to deliver a sustained dose of CHX with less frequent interventions.© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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