Candida albicans biofilm on titanium: effect of peroxidase precoating

Mohamed Ahariz¹, Philippe Courtois<sup>1,2

1</sup>Laboratory of Experimental Hormonology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, ²UER de Biologie Médicale, Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract: The present study aimed to document Candida albicans biofilm development on titanium and its modulation by a peroxidase-precoated material which can generate antimicrobials, such as hypoiodite or hypothiocyanite, from hydrogen peroxide, iodide, or thiocyanate. For this purpose, titanium (powder or foil) was suspended in Sabouraud liquid medium inoculated with C. albicans ATCC10231. After continuous stirring for 2–21 days at room temperature, the supernatant was monitored by turbidimetry at 600 nm and titanium washed three times in sterile Sabouraud broth. Using the tetrazolium salt MTT-formazan assay, the titanium-adherent fungal biomass was measured as 7.50 ± 0.60 × 10⁶ blastoconidia per gram of titanium powder (n = 30) and 0.50 ± 0.04 × 10⁶ blastoconidia per cm² of titanium foil (n = 12). The presence of yeast on the surface of titanium was confirmed by microscopy both on fresh preparations and after calcofluor white staining. However, in the presence of peroxidase systems (lactoperoxidase with substrates such as hydrogen peroxide donor, iodide, or thiocyanate), Candida growth in both planktonic and attached phases appeared to be inhibited. Moreover, this study demonstrates the possible partition of peroxidase systems between titanium material (peroxidase-precoated) and liquid environment (containing peroxidase substrates) to limit C. albicans biofilm formation.

Keywords: adhesion, material, oral, yeast