2. Academic Validation
  3. Metronidazole-Loaded Cyclodextrin Nanogels for Antibacterial Therapy and Microbiota Regulation in Periodontitis

Metronidazole-Loaded Cyclodextrin Nanogels for Antibacterial Therapy and Microbiota Regulation in Periodontitis

  • Adv Healthc Mater. 2025 Oct 28:e02965. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202502965.
Yanjing Ji 1,  Ruichen Zhang 1,  Dongyi Xu 2,  Patrick C A van der Wel 3,  Alessia Lasorsa 3,  Guotai Li 4,  Fangze Guo 5,  Qihui Zhou 4,  Patrick van Rijn 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Biomaterials and Biomedical Technology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Ant. Deusinglaan 1, Groningen, 9713 AV, The Netherlands.
  • 2 Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, Groningen, 9700 RB, The Netherlands.
  • 3 Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen, 9747 AG, The Netherlands.
  • 4 Qingdao Key Laboratory of Materials for Tissue Repair and Rehabilitation, Shandong Engineering Research Center for Tissue Rehabilitation Materials and Devices, School of Rehabilitation Sciences and Engineering, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, 266113, China.
  • 5 Department of Stomatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266003, China.
PMID: 41147748 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202502965
Abstract

In this study, a methacrylamide β-cyclodextrin-based nanogel (MACD nGel) is developed to load the antimicrobial drug Metronidazole (MNZ) for topical delivery for the treatment of periodontitis. The developed MACD nGel is synthesized by free radical polymerization and successfully loaded with MNZ. The nGel/MNZ system is shown to be effective against the main causative organisms of periodontitis, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), and shows significant bacteriostatic effects and good cytocompatibility. In animal studies, the topical application of nGel/MNZ significantly attenuates the inflammatory response in periodontitis, reduces the expression of key inflammatory factors interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and improves the balance of the microbial composition of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF). The study demonstrates that cyclodextrin nanogel (nGel) loaded with metronidazole not only provides an efficient drug delivery route but also has potential clinical applications and offers a novel strategy for the local treatment of periodontitis.

Keywords

antibacterial; cyclodextrin nanogels; microbiota regulation; periodontitis; topical metronidazole.

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