Resorbable Biopolymer Filaments for Drug Release in Gingival Pockets for Adjuvant Periodontitis Treatment

• Applicants: Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Kruppke; Privatdozentin Dr. Katrin Lorenz
• Subject Area: Biomaterials ; Dentistry, Oral Surgery
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 495284435

Periodontitis is a chronic disease with a very high prevalence. Destruction of the periodontium is caused by inflammatory reactions triggered by adherent biofilm in the periodontal pocket. Biodegradable filaments for the controlled local release of antibacterial substances, which can be applied subgingivally, are of high clinical relevance, but currently not available. Within the framework of this interdisciplinary project, materials scientific composite synthesis and degradation characterization will be combined with non-surgical periodontitis therapy. For this purpose, dentists, microbiologists and material scientists will jointly derive a concept based on state of the art periodontitis treatment. Thus, a material compound will be synthesized and an in vitro test environment will be developed. The latter one comprises a periodontal pocket model containing a biofilm within a flow chamber. This will allow to test the efficacy of the drug release system in a direct and practice-oriented manner.The aim is to generate a release system that is completely degradable and stays in the periodontal pocket, owing to its filament shape. Furthermore, the system should degrade without acidification of the surrounding tissue during polymer hydrolysis. This is done by degradation analysis of the starting components, their suitable combination in defined ratios and the final filament geometry. Relevant quantities of antiseptic and antibiotic therapeutics are immobilized in the filamentous material system to be released over a period of up to 10 days. This occurs directly as a result of degradation and the type of drug immobilization in as well as on the filament. In order to investigate the in vitro efficacy as close to the application as possible, a flow chamber will be modified. Therein, a practice-relevant biofilm is cultured in a gap and subjected to a continuous fluid exchange. Thus, the model simulates the rate of sulcular fluid turnover in the periodontal pocket. Finally, the drug-loaded filaments are inserted in the camber and their degradation, drug release and effect on the biofilm are quantified. On this basis – a gap model as a novel investigation environment – the correlation of material and processing with filament degradation, simultaneous drug release and in vitro efficacy can be identified in a final systematic assessment. In perspective, this allows the in vivo situation to be abstracted, which may lead to a reduction in animal experiments. The proposed project and the practical efficacy study of the filamentous drug release system will serve as the basis for a time-efficient translation into the clinic.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants