Development of techniques for determination of primary components of dental medicament paste mixtures for root canal treatment.

AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to develop techniques to evaluate and quantify the primary components of dental medicament paste mixtures for root canal treatment, and to evaluate if degradation of the primary components occurred during storage.

METHODS: The first part of the study developed a mass spectrometry (MS) method for determination of best recovery process. For this process, analytical grades of triamcinolone acetonide, clindamycin HCl, and doxycycline hyclate were sourced and analyzed. This was followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and an analysis of active components in dental pastes.

RESULTS: By utilizing the targeted analytical properties of multiple reaction monitoring MS methods, coupled with SPE technique, the active components of endodontic dental pastes could be quantified and compared. The developed methods showed consistency over multiple runs, with a high level of reproducibility. None of the active components of the tested pastes degraded over the periods of product life tested.

CONCLUSION: The inactivation or destruction of any of the primary components of endodontic medicaments in storage, or when mixed with other pastes, could affect treatment outcomes. The present study provides a reliable technique for the analysis of the active components of root canal medicaments.