Sustained Release of Minocycline From Minocycline-Calcium-Dextran Sulfate Complex Microparticles for Periodontitis Treatment

Abstract

It is important to address the periodontitis-associated bacteria in the residual subgingival plaque after scaling and root planing to successfully treat periodontitis. In this study, we explored the possibility of exploiting the ion pairing/complexation of minocycline, Ca²⁺, and sulfate/sulfonate-bearing biopolymers to develop an intrapocket delivery system of minocycline as an adjunct to scaling and root planing. Minocycline-calcium-dextran sulfate complex microparticles were synthesized from minocycline, CaCl₂, and dextran sulfate. They were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. An in vitro release study was conducted to evaluate the release kinetics of minocycline from these microparticles. Agar disk diffusion assays and biofilm-grown bacteria assays were used to assess antibacterial capability. High loading efficiency (96.98% ± 0.12%) and high loading content (44.69% ± 0.03%) for minocycline were observed for these complex microparticles. Mino-Ca-DS microparticles achieved sustained release of minocycline for at least 9 days at pH 7.4 and 18 days at pH 6.4 in phosphate-buffered saline, respectively. They also demonstrated potent antimicrobial effects against Streptococcus mutans and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in agar disk diffusion and biofilm assays. These results suggested that the ion pairing/complexation of minocycline, Ca²⁺, and sulfonate/sulfate-bearing biopolymers can be exploited to develop complex microparticles as local delivery systems for periodontitis treatment.

Keywords: complexation; controlled release; drug delivery system; microbiome; microparticles.