Development and evaluation of a piceatannol- -arginine nanogel for sustained salivary pH and exopolysaccharide reduction in caries prevention

Oral health is an integral component of human health and well-being. Maintaining oral hygiene is vital as it may lead to local and systemic chronic complications. The most initial consequence of poor oral hygiene is the development of dental caries. The objective of the present study was to develop and optimize a gel-based flexi-liposomal formulation co-loaded with piceatannol (PIC) and L -arginine ( L -Arg) for the prevention of dental caries, and to evaluate its physicochemical characteristics, cytocompatibility, sustained drug release, salivary pH modulation, and antibiofilm efficacy using a pooled human saliva model. The present research work focuses on developing a gel-based flexi-liposomal formulation to prevent dental caries. The formulation comprises flexible liposomes loaded with piceatannol (PIC) and L -Arginine ( L -Arg). The formulation was optimized using a Central Composite two-level two-factorial design (CCD). The final formulation was observed for vesicle size, PDI, and zeta potential, and values were found to be 194.7 nm, 0.216, and −36.1 mV. The entrapment efficiency was found to be 35 % and 56.3 % for L -Arg and PIC respectively. Based on MTT assay observations, the formulation's efficacy was clinically investigated on the pooled human saliva of healthy volunteers. The formulated gel demonstrated its effectiveness in sustaining salivary above the critical threshold of 5.5 pH for 24-hours. Furthermore, an assessment of exopolysaccharide (EPS) revealed a reduction in carbon content by nearly 50 % following the 24-hour investigation. The research findings underscore the formulation's potential in circumventing caries progression.