Polyethylene sebacate: genotoxicity, mutagenicity evaluation and application in periodontal drug delivery system

The objective of the present study is to evaluate Polyethylene sebacate (PES) for its toxicity profile including oral toxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity. PES was synthesised, and characterised by gel permeation chromatography, FTIR, (1)H-NMR, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. Oral toxicity studies revealed PES to be nontoxic up to 3000 mg/kg body weight with no significant changes in serum biochemistry. The standard battery of genotoxicity tests including micronucleus test, chromosomal aberration and comet assay revealed PES as nongenotoxic. Mutagenicity of PES was evaluated using the Ames microplate format mutagenicity assay sample kit using TA98 and TA100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium, both in presence and absence of Aroclor 1254 induced rat liver S9. Ames assay confirmed PES to be nonmutagenic. Periodontal implants of PES of varying roxithromycin/PES ratios and different diameter were prepared. A decrease in in vitro drug release was seen with increase in diameter of the implants. Release rates, however, increased with increase in PES concentration, and were attributed to decreased crystallinity of roxithromycin, confirmed by the DSC thermographs and XRD spectra. Roxithromycin release from the implants followed Higuchi kinetics and exhibited controlled release. The results suggest PES as a safe polymer for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.