Treatment for Periodontal Infection with Nanofibres

Iranian textile engineering experts at Isfahan University of Technology used nanofibres to treat periodontal infections by electrospinning method.

Ma'edeh Zamani, MSc graduate in textile engineering, has produced a web of nanofibres by using electrospinning method. She has used this web to release drug for the treatment of periodontal diseases.

"One of the shortcomings of drug carrying films is their tendency to become sticky or hard when they come to contact with the body liquids. However, due to their soft and non-fibrous structure, nanofibres have solved the problem to a great extent," she said in an interview with the INIC.

"The web of nanofibres analyzed in this research maintained totally its soft and flexible appearance throughout the drug release period. This is also caused by the lower temperature of poly e-caprolactone (PCL) compared with the body temperature, which enables the nanofibre web to have a rubbery form at 37°C. This fact can make easier the use of such webs in the pockets formed in the gums as a result of periodontal infections," Zamani further added.

Elaborating on the advantages of this research, she said, "By using such a system, the patient refers to the specialist only once for the insertion of the device into the periodontal pocket, and there is no need to take out the device later."

"This will lessen the cost and time, and increases the applicability of the device to a great extent," Zamani said.

According to Zamani, the controlled release of the drug from the electrospun nanofibre web will last for 19 to 23 days, while the longest reported period in various systems of the controlled local release of the drug for the treatment of periodontal diseases has been 14 days.