Aim:The aim of this study was to formulate chewing gum using chlorhexidine and chitosan and to prove its antibacterial and antiplaque properties effectively at low doses of chlorhexidine. Materials and Methods: Chewing gums were prepared by using chlorhexidine and various proportions of gum base and chitosan. Hot melt technique was used to prepare chewing gums. The prepared gums were evaluated for physical parameters, compatibility studies, drug content, moisture content, stability studies and in vitro drug-release testing. To carry out in vivo study on humans double-blind, crossover clinical trial was conducted on 18 adult volunteers from Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, JSS Dental College, Mysore. The test group administered chewing gums containing chlorhexidine, with and without the polymer, while the control group administered dummy chewing gums. The volunteers were visually examined for presence or absence of gingival erythema, gingival edema and gingival bleeding and the antibacterial activity was assessed by the reduction in bacterial count in the plaque samples. Result: As the proportion of gum base was increased, an increase in hardness of the chewing gum was observed. The formulation, which contains highest concentration of chitosan, showed more in vitro release compared to other formulation. Analysis of variance revealed signifi cant differences between subjects receiving F1 and F5 for antiplaque activity. The post plaque samples results showed signifi cant reduction in microbial count (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The in vivo studies on human volunteers were carried out for optimized formulation F5 containing chitosan and antibacterial agent which showed a better reduction in the bacterial count and gingival index. The dose of chlorhexidine can be reduced signifi cantly when used along with chitosan. Chitosan containing chewing gum has a greater antibacterial effect compared with gums containing only chlorhexidine.

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Nanotheranostics is a multimodal platform that comprises a combination of a therapeutic agent, an imaging agent (photosensitized nanoparticle), and a ligand or carrier molecule. This serves as both therapy and diagnosis for cancer treatments. Due to the distinctive nature of the tumor microenvironment, nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have the added advantage of enhanced permeation retention. The conjugation of metal nanoparticles such as gold and titanium dioxide is promising as they have unique properties for cancer bioimaging and hyperthermia-based treatments. The conventional treatment modalities of cancer have limitations concerning high radiation and lack of specificity spanning to extensive side effects. In orofacial cancer, conventional treatments require surgical intervention due to late diagnosis leading to facial disfigurement, eating, and speech disability. Included in the approach is to target the cancer cells using a combination of photothermal and photodynamic therapy to develop a non-invasive technique.