Films based on chitosan for the potential treatment of oral candidiasis

TEJADA, G.; BARRERA, M.G.; PICCIRILLI, G.N.; FRATTINI, A.; REAL, D.; SALOMON, C.J.; BIASOLI, M.S.; LUQUE, A.G.; LEONARDI, D.

Munster

Congreso; 13th International Conference on Chitin and Chitosan.; 2015

Chitosan (CH) is widely used in several pharmaceutical dosage forms. Herein, polymeric films based on CH for the delivery of miconazole nitrate (MN), to treat oral candidiasis, were developed. Different formulations containing MN, polyethylene glycol 400, CH and pectin (PC), were prepared by the casting method. Films were characterized in terms of 1) adhesion (using pig buccal mucosa), 2) thickness, 3) mechanical strengths, 4) swelling, 5) morphology (by scanning electron microscopy), and 6) in vitro antifungal effectiveness against Candida parapsilosis. The interactions between polymers were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Methods: CH (85.5% DD; MW 239.2 KD) was solubilized in aqueous lactic acid solution and stirred overnight. PC solutions were prepared by dissolution in water. CH solutions were dripped to the PC solutions, then MN solubilized in polyethylene glycol 400 was added and the mixture was stirred at 200 rpm during 2 h. The solutions were cast on petri dishes and dried (35 °C). The compositions of matrixes were combinations between CH and PC, all loaded with MN. Results: 1) Adhesion ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 N, 2), thickness (0.68 to 0.70 mm), 3) tensile strength 0.7 to 0.9 N/mm and elongation 3.5 to 10.1 mm, 4) swelling (65.0 % to 120.5%) 5) morphology (symmetric membranes, uniformly distributed), 6) in vitro antifungal effectiveness (inhibition halo zone (40 to 58 mm) in candida culture dishes). Conclusion: As seen, CH-PC buccal films containing MN could be a convenient approach for the treatment of oral candidiasis.