Sustained in vitro activity of human albumin microspheres containing chlorhexidine dihydrochloride against bacteria from cultures of organisms that cause urinary tract infections.

The potential of chlorhexidine dihydrochloride (CH HCl) incorporated into human albumin microspheres to provide sustained activity in vitro against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa from quality controls and from cultures of organisms that cause urinary tract infections was investigated. CH HCl was entrapped into five different formulations of human albumin microspheres. A technique was developed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of these microspheres and of controls (unloaded microspheres or gel). CH HCl microspheres exhibited antibacterial activity over a period of 16 days. Similar results were obtained with microspheres suspended in a methocel gel, and their antibacterial activity also continued for about 16 days. Empty microspheres or gel media alone were ineffective. The release rates of CH HCl from human albumin microspheres coated onto catheters by use of different gel formulations were also determined. The microsphere formulations were found to provide sustained antibacterial activity even at a low drug concentration.