EVIDENCE OF SUSTAINED RELEASE OF CHLORHEXIDINE ADDED TO ACRYLIC RESIN : PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF A POTENTIAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

아크릴릭 레진에 혼합된 클로르헥시딘의 방출 : 새로운 방법의 약물송달시스템을 위한 예비실험

For more than two decades, many investigators have tried a variety of methods for delivering antimicrobial agents to the oral cavity with the objective of eliminating mutans streptococci. In the belief that the effectiveness of chemotherapy might be improved by a more effective delivery system, the intention of the present study was to exploit a new drug delivery system delivering chlorhexidine to the oral cavity. The vehicle delivering chlorhexidine tested in this study was self-curing acrylic resin(polymethyl methacrylate). The powder of the acrylic resin was polymerized with the 5 different liquid preparations, in which $Chlorzoin^{(R)}$ was mixed with five different monomer/Chlorzoin ratios immediately prior to the polymerization, in a stainless steel mold ($40mm{\times}40mm{\times}2mm$). A total of 50 cured resin specimens were divided into 5 groups according to the different monomer preparations. Every specimen was soaked in an airtight container filled with distilled water (100 ml) and then kept in an incubator at $37^{\circ}C$. The solutions (0.8 ml) were collected from the container at every 24 hours, and the amount of released chlorhexidine in the solutions was measured in an ultraviolet spectrophotometer at 250nm. The container was refilled with distilled water every after measurement. This procedure was repeated for 14 days. It was found that chlorhexidine was continuously released from all of the 50 specimens during the experimental period. And it was noted that the pattern of chlorhexidine release was a type of sustained-release preparation, that is, the amount of the released chlorhexidine at the first day in all 5 groups was high (p<0.0001), and then the release was decreased during the rest of the experimental period (p<0.001).