Evaluation of metronidazole nanofibers in patients with chronic periodontitis: A clinical study

Aim: Prevention of periodontal disease progression is the primary goal of periodontal therapy. When conventional therapy is found to be inadequate in achieving periodontal health in chronic periodontitis, local antimicrobial agents are used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP), which produces encouraging results. In the present study, an attempt was made to develop a low-dose controlled-release delivery system for the treatment of periodontal infections. A new sustained release drug system of poly e-caprolactone (PCL) nanofibers containing metronidazole (MET) was successfully electrospun and evaluated clinically for periodontal diseases. The retentive nanofibres were shown to provide a controlled delivery of the drugs. Materials and Methods: Nanofibers were prepared with MET in PCL by electrospinning technique. The drug-coated nanofibers provided sustained effect up to a period of 11 days (264 h) and followed first-order release. Forty sites in seven patients (four females and three males) with chronic periodontitis (5-8 mm probing depth) were allocated in two experimental treatment groups: Group A treated with SRP + MET nanofibers and Group B treated with SRP alone (control group). All these patients were evaluated clinically for probing depth (PD), plaque index (PI), and gingival index (GI). Results: Both the treatment groups were found to be efficacious in the treatment of periodontal disease as demonstrated by improvement in PD, PI, and GI. Conclusion: Combination of SRP + MET nanofibers (Group A) resulted in added benefits, compared to the control group.