{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T05:02:25Z","timestamp":1787029345992,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,19]],"date-time":"2020-03-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1584576000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok","award":["N\/ST\/ZB\/18\/004\/2215"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/ST\/ZB\/18\/004\/2215"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Periodontal diseases are some of the most widespread oral afflictions, and they are labeled as chronic infections caused by the accumulation of bacteria in dental plaque that produces localized inflammation of the periodontium. The use of local drug delivery systems to treat periodontal diseases has received greater attention, because the active substance is targeted directly to the affected area, which minimizes its systemic side effects. Therefore, the purpose of the investigation was to develop and characterize different types of gel formulations\u2014bigel, hydrogel and oleogel\u2014as local delivery systems containing metronidazole (MET), which can be applied to the oral mucosa. The influence of the formulation type on the mechanical, rheological and mucoadhesive properties were examined. Moreover, in vitro release of metronidazole, its ex vivo permeation through buccal porcine mucosa and antimicrobial activity measured by the plate diffusion method were estimated. It was found that the gel formulations obtained were non-Newtonian systems, showing a shear-thinning behavior and thixotropic properties with good textural features such as firmness, compressibility and adhesiveness. Moreover, the preparations designed possessed beneficial mucoadhesive properties. The formulated hydrogels and bigels containing micronized MET were considered as better formulations in terms of drug release and antimicrobial activity compared to commercially available metronidazole ointment. An ex vivo permeation study with the use of porcine buccal mucosa demonstrated that the bigel formulation was characterized by higher initial permeability rate providing a fast therapeutic effect with simultaneous moderate retention in mucosal tissue to decrease the risk of local cytotoxicity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym12030680","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,19]],"date-time":"2020-03-19T10:01:35Z","timestamp":1584612095000},"page":"680","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":60,"title":["Different Types of Gel Carriers as Metronidazole Delivery Systems to the Oral Mucosa"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5782-679X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Magdalena","family":"Wr\u00f3blewska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, A. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emilia","family":"Szyma\u0144ska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, A. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4340-5350","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marta","family":"Szekalska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, A. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1013-610X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katarzyna","family":"Winnicka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Bia\u0142ystok, A. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bia\u0142ystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"609","DOI":"10.1111\/odi.12428","article-title":"Global burden of oral diseases: Emerging concepts, management and interplay with systemic health","volume":"22","author":"Jin","year":"2016","journal-title":"Oral Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"456","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpe.12732","article-title":"Impact of the global burden of periodontal diseases on health, nutrition and wellbeing of mankind: A call for global action","volume":"44","author":"Tonetti","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Clin. Periodontol."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"72","article-title":"Prevalence of periodontal disease, its association with systemic diseases and prevention","volume":"11","author":"Nazir","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. 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