Effects of surface pre-reacted glass-ionomer (S-PRG) eluate on Candida spp.: antifungal activity, anti-biofilm properties, and protective effects on Galleria mellonella against C. albicans infection

Abstract

Surface pre-reacted glass-ionomer (S-PRG) is a bioactive filler produced by PRG technology, which is applied to various dental materials. The inhibitory effects of S-PRG eluate against Candida, the most common fungal oral pathogen, were investigated. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and anti-biofilm activities were tested against Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, and Candida tropicalis. For the in vivo study, Galleria mellonella was used as a model to evaluate the effects of S-PRG on toxicity, hemocyte counts and candidiasis. The MIC of S-PRG ranged from 5 to 40% (v/v). S-PRG eluate exhibited anti-biofilm activity for all the Candida species tested. Furthermore, injection of S-PRG eluate into G. mellonella was not toxic to the larvae and protected G. mellonella against experimental candidiasis. In addition, S-PRG eluate inhibited biofilm formation by C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, and C. tropicalis and exerted protective effects on G. mellonella against experimental candidiasis in vivo.

Keywords:

• S-PRG filler
• Candida spp.
• biofilms
• Galleria mellonella

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) (Grants 2017/02652-6, 2017/19219-3, 2018/21239-5, 2019/05664-0) and the National Council for --Scientific Development/CNPq (306330/2018-0).