Surface Architecture Influences the Rigidity of Candida albicans Cells

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the morphology and rigidity of the opportunistic pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans ATCC 10231, during its attachment to surfaces of three levels of nanoscale surface roughness. Non-polished titanium (npTi), polished titanium (pTi), and glass with respective average surface roughness (Sa) values of 389 nm, 14 nm, and 2 nm, kurtosis (Skur) values of 4, 16, and 4, and skewness (Sskw) values of 1, 4, and 1 were used as representative examples of each type of nanoarchitecture. Thus, npTi and glass surfaces exhibited similar Sskw and Skur values but highly disparate Sa. C. albicans cells that had attached to the pTi surfaces exhibited a twofold increase in rigidity of 364 kPa compared to those yeast cells attached to the surfaces of npTi (164 kPa) and glass (185 kPa). The increased rigidity of the C. albicans cells on pTi was accompanied by a distinct round morphology, condensed F-actin distribution, lack of cortical actin patches, and the negligible production of cell-associated polymeric substances; however, an elevated production of loose extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was observed. The differences in the physical response of C. albicans cells attached to the three surfaces suggested that the surface nanoarchitecture (characterized by skewness and kurtosis), rather than average surface roughness, could directly influence the rigidity of the C. albicans cells. This work contributes to the next-generation design of antifungal surfaces by exploiting surface architecture to control the extent of biofilm formation undertaken by yeast pathogens and highlights the importance of performing a detailed surface roughness characterization in order to identify and discriminate between the surface characteristics that may influence the extent of cell attachment and the subsequent behavior of the attached cells.

Biomimetic Nanopillar Silicon Surfaces Rupture Fungal Spores

“…In case of filamentous fungi, initiation of the biofilm starts with the germination of spores attached to a substrate surface. Recently the antifungal capabilities of nanostructured surfaces toward Candida albicans and other yeasts were shown to result from a purported physical mechanism, sometimes in addition to the toxic activity of generated strong reactive oxygen species (ROS) [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. For example, Xie et al reported that C. albicans cells were mechanically ruptured when interacting with ZnO nanostructured substrates (a polygonal column structure with a height of 3–5 μm and a width of 100–200 nm) [ 54 ].…”

Ceragenin CSA-44 as a Means to Control the Formation of the Biofilm on the Surface of Tooth and Composite Fillings

“…The biofilm formed by C. albicans cells was stiffer than that from E. f aecalis. A large part of the biofilm structure stiffness originates from the stiffness of the cells themselves, which might be considered as elastic, deformable spheres [ 36 , 37 ]. In a previous report [ 35 ], the Young’s modulus of Bacillus subtillis cells surface was determined to be about 800 kPa.…”

“…In a previous report [ 35 ], the Young’s modulus of Bacillus subtillis cells surface was determined to be about 800 kPa. Others [ 38 ] determined the Young’s modulus of fungal cells to be up to 760 kPa, but a different report [ 36 ] estimated the Young’s modulus of C. albicans cells as only 360 kPa. Based on these conflicting reports [ 39 ], it is also not possible to state unequivocally which cells are stiffer when measured using AFM microscopy.…”

Streptococcus Mutans Membrane Vesicles Enhance Candida albicans Pathogenicity and Carbohydrate Metabolism

“…Hydroxyapatite (HA) discs (Clarkson Chromatography Products, South Williamsport, PA, USA) 9.7 mm in diameter and 1.5 mm thick were used in this study. Dentin surfaces and HA discs were ground and polished by silicon carbide sandpapers (600-, 800-, 1500- and 2000-grit) in order to avoid the influence of HA discs surface roughness in C. albicans biofilm formation ( Wang et al., 2020b ; Le et al., 2022 ). After polishing, the dentin specimens and HA discs were sonicated in distilled water for 10 min to remove residual debris.…”