The gel was designed by Otago researchers in partnership with Tairawhiti Pharmaceuticals, and now University of Otago periodontal health and disease researcher Prof Dawn Coates is at the Karolinska Institutet Faculty of Dental Medicine in Sweden, working with scientists to reveal its properties.
‘‘We have worked together for a number of years, defining the good and bad bacteria — the microbiome — in response to a mānuka oil nanoparticle gel.
‘‘The biogel has been made to treat gum disease — which is a major problem in New Zealand and globally.
‘‘The Karolinska dental faculty is a similar size to New Zealand’s only dental faculty, at Otago University, and we can learn a lot from each other.’’
Due to growing concerns about drug resistance and other limitations, the potential of alternative plant-derived bioactives with antimicrobial properties had attracted significant attention in treating bacterial infection, including periodontal disease.
Prof Coates said mānuka oil, an essential oil derived from New Zealand’s Leptospermum scoparium plant, was a potential candidate with known antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
However, she said formulation of natural oils for delivery, sustained release and substantivity in the oral environment was challenging.
The integration of nanoencapsulation technology offered the potential to prolong the release time of the mānuka oil, as well as enhance biocompatibility and address the therapeutic requirements.
Microfluidics enabled precise nanoparticle synthesis, while chitosan — the fibrous substance found in crustacean shells like shrimp and crab, or the cell walls of fungi such as oyster mushrooms — represented a promising encapsulation polymer.
Delivering plant-derived mānuka oil in chitosan nanospheres using microfluidics held great promise in developing novel, topically active, sustained-release medicaments for periodontal treatment, Prof Coates said.
However, until now, this approach had been relatively unexplored.
If found to be effective, it could help the estimated 19% of the global adult population who suffer from gum disease.
