Investigating the Cytotoxic and Anti-Bacterial Activity of Commercially Available Local Anesthetics: An In-Vitro Analysis
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the influence of three local anesthetic dental formulations manufactured in France (Septodont), Korea (Medicaine) and Pakistan (HD-Caine) in terms of cytotoxicity and anti-bacterial activities. METHODOLOGY: 90 commercially available local anesthetic cartridges of similar composition (2% lidocaine with epinephrine 100,000) viz. Septodont, Medicaine and HD-Caine were randomly collected from three different Pakistani cities and were assigned as Group S, Group M and Group H, respectively. The cartridges were further divided into three sub-groups each consisting of 10 cartridges to first evaluate cytotoxicity on Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) using a flow cytometer and secondly to investigate anti-bacterial activity by measuring zones of inhibition and through Broth Dilution Method against five bacterial strains. RESULTS: The results indicated that Septodont (94.5±0.1) and Medicaine (94.7±0.0) showed the highest viability percentage with no significant difference when the two were compared (P=0.6). HD-Caine (93.9±0.0) showed the least, being significantly (P<0.01) different from Septodont and Medicane. A statistically significant (P<0.05) difference was identified between the three study groups regarding the anti-bacterial activity. HD-Caine showed the highest anti-bacterial potential, followed by Medicaine and Septodont. CONCLUSION: Mild toxicity was observed by all the three groups in human MSCs, justifying their safe use in clinical practice. Additionally, Medicane and HD-Caine showed significant anti-bacterial activity indicating their possible use as sterile irrigants. KEYWORDS: Dental anesthesia, Lidocaine, Epinephrine, Antibacterial activity HOW TO CITE: Imran E, Moeen F, Satti H, Rahman L. Investigating the cytotoxic and anti-bacterial activity of commercially available local anesthetics: An in-vitro analysis. J Pak Dent Assoc 2020;29(4):185-192.