Improved drug delivery properties of PVDF membranes functionalized with β-cyclodextrin-Application to guided tissue regeneration in periodontology

The purpose of this study was to develop a membrane for guided tissue regeneration applicable in periodontology that could release antimicrobial agent during the healing period. Our strategy consisted to graft β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD), a molecule that is known to form inclusion complexes with a large variety of drugs, onto PVDF membranes. Grafting occurred by using citric acid that provoked a crosslinking reaction of β‐CD, and the resulting polymer was imprisoned into the porous structure of the PVDF membrane. The reaction produced a weight increase of the membrane, the range of which depended on the temperature and on the time of curing applied in the process. The biological behavior of the membranes evaluated by proliferation and vitality tests showed good proliferation and improved activity of L132 epithelial cells on the raw and on the grafted membranes. Doxycyclin (DOX) and chlorhexidine (CHX) were used as antimicrobial agents. Their inclusion into the β‐CD cavity in aqueous solutions was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. After the impregnation of the membranes with DOX and CHX, their release was studied in vitro in batch type experiments and measured by UV spectrophotometry. Low amounts of DOX and CHX were delivered from the raw membranes within the first few hours of tests. Grafted membranes, however, delivered DOX and CHX in larger quantities within 24 h and 10 days respectively. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2006