FORMULATION OF 0.5%AZITHROMYCIN GEL AS LOCAL DRUG DELIVERY AGENT FOR PERIODONTAL THERAPY- INVITRO DRUG RELEASE STUDY

Context: Non surgical periodontal therapy is the gold standard treatment for periodontitis. But the invasive nature of subgingival microorganisms makes the use of antimicrobials inevitable. These antimicrobials can be used systemically and locally. Due the side effects posed by systemic administration of antibiotics local drug delivery is more favourable. Various local drug delivery agents are commercially available for periodontal therapy. Studies have shown that azithromycin is effective against periodontal pathogens so, it can be used in periodontitis treatment. But the use of azithromycin as local drug delivery agent is rare. Aims: The present study aims at formulation of 0.5% azithromycin gel as local drug delivery agent for periodontal therapy with PLGA as vehicle and invitro drug release evaluation in articial saliva. Settings and Design: Formulation of 0.5%azithromycin was done and articial saliva prepared. Azithromycin gel was placed in a dialysis tube. The dialysis tube was then placed in a beaker containing 100ml of articial Saliva. A total of eight samples were collected for a period of seven days. The amount of drug release was estimated using HPLC. Results: The results showed that the concentration of azithromycin in samples collected was greater than the minimum inhibitory concentration of most the periodontal pathogens. Conclusions:The formulation of 0.5% azithromycin can be used as local drug delivery agent adjunct to scaling and root planning.