Controlled release of chlorhexidine digluconate using β-cyclodextrin and microfibrillated cellulose

This study aims to develop a high-performance delivery system using microfibrillated cellulose (MFC)-coated papers as a controlled release system combined with the well-known drug delivery agent, β-cyclodextrin (βCD). Chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX), an antibacterial molecule, was mixed with a suspension of MFC or a βCD solution or mixed with both the substances, before coating onto a cellulosic substrate. The intermittent diffusion of CHX (i.e., diffusion interrupted by the renewal of the release medium periodically) was conducted in an aqueous medium, and the release mechanism of CHX was elucidated by field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy, SEM, NMR, and Fourier transform infrared analyses. According to the literature, both βCD and MFC are efficient controlled delivery systems. This study indicated that βCD releases CHX more gradually and over a longer period of time compared to MFC, which is mainly due to the ability of βCD to form an inclusion complex with CHX. Furthermore from the release study, a complementary action when the two compounds were combined was deduced. MFC mainly affected the burst effect, while βCD primarily controlled the amount of CHX released over time. In this paper, two different types of controlled release systems are proposed and compared. Depending on the final application, the use of βCD alone would release low amounts of active molecules over time (slow delivery), whereas the combination of β-cyclodextrin and MFC would be more suitable for the release of higher amounts of active molecules over time (rapid delivery).