Thermosensitive hydrogel for periodontal application: in vitro drug release, antibacterial activity and toxicity evaluation

Injectable thermosensitive chitosan hydrogel is an attractive temperature-induced sol-gel solution that is widely used in drug delivery and biomedical applications. In this study, an injectable antimicrobial delivery system for periodontal treatment based on chitosan/gelatin/β-glycerolphosphate solution has been developed. The result of thermal and mechanical evaluations of chitosan/gelatin/β-glycerolphosphate hydrogel showed that adding gelatin to chitosan/β-glycerolphosphate solution significantly decreased gelling time and increased gel strength at 37℃. The antimicrobial agents chosen for release studies were metronidazole with a low molecular weight and vancomycin hydrochloride with a high molecular weight. The initial burst and total in vitro drug release for metronidazole was 13% and 67%, respectively. The initial burst and total drug release for vancomycin hydrochloride was relatively low at 3% and 23%, respectively. The momentary and total percentage of metronidazole accumulated in the phosphate buffer revealed that chitosan/gelatin/β-glycerolphosphate can develop and maintain sustained release of metronidazole in concentrations that are effective for eliminating pathogenic bacteria over time. Cytotoxicity evaluations show that chitosan/gelatin/β-glycerolphosphate thermosensitive hydrogel is a drug carrier with no cytotoxic effects.