Study of the elution of fluconazole from a self-polymerizing acrylic resin and its activity against resistant Candida albicans.

The study aimed, firstly, to monitor the release of an antifungal drug, fluconazole, from a self-polymerizing poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) denture base resin in artificial saliva and comparing it with the release in water; and secondly, to investigate the effect of the released drug on the growth of resistant and standard strains of Candida albicans. A high-performance liquid chromatography-ultra-violet (HPLC-UV) method was used in the analysis of the released eluates into distilled water from self-polymerized PMMA discs doped with the 10% fluconazole antifungal drug. The efficacy of the released drug against resistant and standard strains of C. albicans was monitored, using agar diffusion method. The results showed that fluconazole, can be successfully incorporated with the self-polymerized PMMA. The findings suggest that the drug leaches steadily out of the PMMA resin into artificial saliva and distilled water at mouth temperature and that sustained drug release continued throughout the 28 days test period. It was shown that the released drug demonstrated antifungal activity against both standard and resistant C. albicans. The findings of this investigation have a clinical value in terms of their significant contribution to the treatment of fungal infections of the oral cavity. The sustained release of antifungal drug from the PMMA resin clearly constitutes a new dosage form of the drug via the poly(methyl methacrylate) delivery system.