Effect of sodium hexametaphosphate and fluoride on dual-species biofilms of Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of sodium hexametaphosphate (HMP), administered alone or in combination with fluoride (F), on dual-species biofilms of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans. Biofilms were treated with HMP solutions at 0.25%, 0.5% and 1%, alone or combined with F (0.05%), and compared by evaluating their structure and quantifying the colony-forming units (CFUs), metabolic activity, production of biomass and extracellular matrix components. All HMP-containing solutions were capable of reducing metabolic activity, the biofilm biomass, and the extracellular matrix components. Furthermore, the treatment with 1% HMP/F significantly reduced the CFUs of S. mutans, although it showed no effect on the CFUs of C. albicans, in the dual-species biofilms. In general, the combination of HMP and F influenced all the parameters analyzed from dual-species biofilms, except the CFUs of C. albicans.

KEYWORDS:

• Biofilms
• fluorides
• Streptococcus mutans
• Candida albicans
• phosphates

Acknowledgements

The authors thank CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) for financial support (scholarship) to the first author, PVE/CAPES grant #88881.030445/2013-01 and Finance Code 001)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001. This work was supported by PVE/CAPES under Grant 88881.030445/2013-01 and PROCAD/CAPES under Grant 88881.068437/2014-01.