title: Benzoyl peroxide formulated polycarbophil/carbopol 934P hydrogel with selective antimicrobial activity, potentially beneficial for treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis.
abstract: The human vagina is colonized by a variety of indigenous microflora; in healthy individuals the predominant bacterial genus is Lactobacillus while those with bacterial vaginosis (BV) carry a variety of anaerobic representatives of the phylum Actinobacteria. In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) encapsulated in a hydrogel against Gardnerella vaginalis, one of the causative agents of BV, as well as indicating its safety for healthy human lactobacilli. Herein, it is shown that in well diffusion assays G. vaginalis is inhibited at 0.01% hydrogel-encapsulated BPO and that the tested Lactobacillus spp. can tolerate concentrations of BPO up to 2.5%. In direct contact assays (cells grown in a liquid culture containing hydrogel with 1% BPO or BPO particles), we demonstrated that hydrogels loaded with 1% BPO caused 6-log reduction of G. vaginalis. Conversely, three of the tested Lactobacillus spp. were not inhibited while L. acidophilus growth was slightly delayed. The rheological properties of the hydrogel formulation were probed using oscillation frequency sweep, oscillation shear stress sweep, and shear rate sweep. This shows the gel to be suitable for vaginal application and that the encapsulation of BPO did not alter rheological properties.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers State University, 65 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Shiqi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers State University, 76 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Veronica L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Cavera
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers State University, 65 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers State University, 65 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Qingrong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Scientelle, LLC, Morristown, NJ 07906, USA.
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zubovskiy
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers State University, 65 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA ; Bioronus, LLC, Highland Park, NJ 08904, USA.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chikindas
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000494:pharmacology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001585:Benzoyl Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005260:Female; D006194:Gardnerella vaginalis / Q000187:drug effects*; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; C006903:carbopol 940; C030312:calcium polycarbophil; D001585:Benzoyl Peroxide