Antimicrobial activity of chlorhexidine and cerium oxide nanoparticles composition

Abstract

Introduction. Antiseptics are non-specific antimicrobial drugs that are widely used in dentistry. The "gold standard" in periodontology is chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG). A widespread use of CHG-containing products for daily care in medicine and dentistry and other fields leads to acquiring resistance to CHG in microorganisms. Methods. A macro method of serial dilution was used for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) on clinical strains of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) obtained from the patients with associated dental plaque-induced gingivitis, whereas museum strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) ATCC25922 and Candida albicans (C. albicans) ATCC10231 were used as inoculum. Results. The MIC and MBC of CHG, cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs) and the solution of the CeNPs and CHG were tested. It was found that CeNPs itself had a weak inhibitory and bactericidal effect on microorganisms. The composition of CHG and CeNPs had significantly higher MIC and MBC for clinical cultures S. mutans and S. epidermidis; museum strains of E. coli ATCC25922 and C. albicans ATCC10231 were compared with CHG alone. Conclusion. This method significantly enhanced bactericidal and bacteriostatic activity of chlorhexidine digluconate against clinical and museum strains of microorganisms.