Research on an adhesive patch that extends the release of clobetasol-17-propionate, a topical corticosteroid, for treating oral lichen planus (OLP) and recurring aphthous stomatitis (RAS) was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research.
The meeting was held in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research. The study, led by David T. Wu from the Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, characterized ex vivo adhesion to diverse oral tissues with mechanical testing.
The oral tissues in the study included the tongue, lip, gingiva, and buccal mucosa. The team examined in vitro cytotoxicity with a WST cell assay on primary human gingival epithelial cells cultured in DenTA1-conditioned media. It assessed the release of clobetasol-17-propionate with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and an in vitro immunomodulation assay was performed.
DenTA1 had superior physical and adhesive properties compared to existing oral technologies, with around two to 100 times adhesion (up to 1600 J/m2) to oral tissues and around three to 15 times stretchability. Additionally, clobetasol-17-propionate incorporated into the DenTA1 media was released in a tunable, sustained manner over weeks. The researchers reported that it showed immunomodulatory capabilities in vitro, evidenced by reductions in several cytokines.
The study's findings suggest that DenTA1 may be a promising device for the intraoral delivery of small molecule drugs applicable to the management of painful oral lesions associated with inflammatory conditions such as OLP and RAS.
