Novel probiotic dissolvable carboxymethyl cellulose films as oral health biotherapeutics: in vitro preparation and characterization

Objectives: Oral health is influenced by the mouth's resident microorganisms. Dental caries and periodontitis are oral disorders caused by imbalances in the oral microbiota. Probiotics have potential for the prevention and treatment of oral disorders. Current formulations, including supplements and foods, have limitations for oral delivery including short storage time, low residence time in the mouth, effects on food consistency, and low patient compliance. Oral thin films (OTFs) may be efficient in delivering probiotics to the mouth. This research aims to develop a novel carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-probiotic-OTF to deliver probiotics for the treatment/prevention of oral disorders.

Methods: CMC-OTFs were developed with varying CMC concentration (1.25 – 10 mg/mL), weight (5 – 40 g), thickness (16 – 262 μm), hygroscopicity (30.8 – 78.9 mg/cm² film), and dissolving time (135 – 600 s). The 10 g 5 mg/mL CMC-OTF was selected and used to incorporate Lactobacillus fermentum NCIMB 5221 (6.75 × 10⁸ cells/film), a probiotic with anti-inflammatory potential for periodontitis treatment and capable of inhibiting microorganisms responsible for dental caries and oral candidiasis.

Results: The CMC-OTF maintained probiotic viability and antioxidant activity following 150 days of storage with a production of 549.52 ± 26.08 μM Trolox equivalents.

Conclusion: This research shows the successful development and characterization of a novel probiotic-CMC-OTF with potential as an oral health biotherapeutic.