An in-vitro study of the adherence of Candida albicans to acrylic surfaces

Abstract

An in-vitro system was designed to assess quantitatively the adhesion of Candida albicans to acrylic surfaces. Clear acrylic strips were placed in yeast suspensions and the number of yeasts attached per unit area was counted microscopically. A significant positive correlation was found between the concentrations of yeast in the suspension and their adhesion to the acrylic strips. Pre-incubation with sucrose greatly increased the adherence of C. albicans to the acrylic strips, and there was a direct linear increase in adhesion with increasing sucrose concentrations. The enhanced adhesion of yeasts induced by sucrose disappeared when Candida were heat-killed prior to incubation in a sucrose-containing medium. These observations, together with electron-microscopic studies, suggest that an extracellular metabolic product of the organism could be responsible for the enhanced adhesion associated with sucrose. The system can be effectively used to study the influence of other intra-oral factors on the adhesion of C. albicans to acrylic surfaces.