Antifungal Efficacy of Triple Antibiotic Paste, Double Antibiotic Paste with Fungicide and Calcium Hydroxide with Chitosan as a Vehicle against Candida albicans: An In vitro Study

Introduction: The purpose of current research is to assess the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of different medicaments with two different vehicles against Candida albicans (C. albicans). Materials and Methodology: An agar well diffusion assay was used to determine the experimental medicaments' efficacy against C. albicans. Medicaments were divided into six groups, which includes Triple antibiotic powder (TAP) with saline or chitosan, Double antibiotic powder with fungicide (DAPF) with saline or Chitosan, and calcium hydroxide with saline or Chitosan. The diameters of growth inhibition zones were recorded and compared for each group for three days, i.e., 1,4,7 days. The differences between groups were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: The largest inhibition zones were observed for the double antibiotic paste + fungicide with chitosan and the smallest for Ca(OH)2 with saline. Over a week, zones of inhibition were consistent only with group V – double antibiotic paste with fungicide and chitosan as the vehicle. Conclusion: DAPF with chitosan is more efficient against Candida albicans. Since the endodontic infections are polymicrobial in origin, the combined local drug delivery of antimicrobial agents such as ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, doxycycline along with antifungal drugs such as fluconazole with an efficient drug carrier (chitosan) is recommended to combat the microbial load.