Topical delivery of antibacterial agents for the treatment of periodontal disease has been developed to help overcome the problems of systemic drug therapy, inadequate access for effective drug concentration, and insufficient duration of activity seen with conventional drug therapy. To date, the most prevalent approach for the slow release devices has been the incorporation of antibiotics into dialysis tubing and acrylic fibers. Acrylic fibers, however, have the limitations of being non- erodible/resorbable, and, due to fixed geometry, non-conforming systems. The purpose of this study is the development and evaluation of a bioerodible/resorbable periodontal drug delivery system for clindamycin utilizing a gel film matrix that conforms to the shape of the periodontal pocket and provides sustained, localized drug concentrations at therapeutically effective levels. Studies will be conducted to characterize the gelatin films via moisture content and thickness, swelling and degradation kinetics, drug compatibility, and drug permeability. Drug release from the gelatin film under conditions of limited moisture, a condition similar to that of the periodontal pocket, will be evaluated using agar diffusion antibiotic susceptibility methods. These data will be useful to: (1) characterize the time course of drug release, (2) indicate the drug's activity against Staphylococcus aureus, a standard quality control bacterium, and several oral pathogens, (3) evaluate the feasibility of the gelatin film system prior to in-vivo application.
