Antibacterial Activity and Anti-Biofilm Effect of Chitosan against Strains of Streptococcus Mutans Isolated in Dental Plaque

Abstract

Streptococcus mutans is the major cause of dental plaque and is often associated with biofilm formation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the activity of a hydrosoluble derivative of chitosan against S. mutans biofilms in vitro and in vivo. Strains of S. mutans were isolated from the dental plaque of 84 patients enrolled in the study. The antibacterial activity of chitosan was determined by broth microdilutions. The effect of chitosan at different concentrations and exposure times on S. mutans biofilms at different phases of development was assessed by a clinical study using the classical "4-day plaque regrowth" experiment in adult volunteers. The MIC values of chitosan were between 0.5 and 2 giL. Compared to distilled water, the chitosan solution significantly decreased the vitality of plaque microflora (p~0.05). Chlorhexidine, used as a positive control, reduced vitality even further. The results showed that S. mutans in the adhesion phase (4 h) was completely inhibited by chitosan at any concentration (0.1, 0.2, 0.5XMIC) or exposure time investigated (1, 15, 30, 60 min), while S. mutans at successive stages of accumulation (12-24 h) was inhibited only by higher concentrations and longer exposure times. These data confirm the effective action of chitosan against S. mutans biofilms.

Synthesis of hybrid copper-chitosan nanoparticles with antibacterial activity against cariogenic <i>Streptococcus mutans </i>

“…Although chitosan has also bactericidal properties, the MIC values of chitosan for S. mutans have been reported to range from 500 to 2,000 μg/mL −1 , 17,18) . Despite of this, MIC value of CuChNP against S. mutans is comparable to that reported for silver nanoparticles (50-222 μg/mL −1 ) or traditional oral antibacterials such as chlorhexidine (1,250 μg/ mL −1 ) 19,20) .…”

In vitro damage of Candida albicans biofilms by chitosan

“…The biopolymer is easily catalyzed to oligosaccharides by various biological enzymes, and is considered biodegradable (12); thus, can be absorbed by the body. Previous studies have demonstrated that chitosan not only has immunoregulatory efficacy, but also a naturally broad spectrum of antibacterial activity that enables the inhibition of biofilm formation (11,13,14). …”

Kaurenoic Acid fromAralia continentalisInhibits Biofilm Formation ofStreptococcus mutans

“…Despite fluoride being effective against dental plaque formation, high levels of fluoride are cytotoxic [7, 8]. Thus, many attempts have been made to search for an effective agent to prevent dental plaque formation [9, 10]. Recently, several natural products that are derived from herbs, such as Rosmarinus officinalis , Mentha longifolia L., Aralia continentalis, and Curcuma longa L. , have also been studied for their ability to inhibit the formation of dental plaque [11–14].…”