universidade de são paulo - Faculdade de Odontologia - Unesp

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adhering to denture surfaces [1]. This adhesion capacity of Candida albicans to
denture surfaces is the first step, considered essential, for the development of
denture stomatitis [3-5], a common type of oral candidiasis among denture
wearers [6-8]. Therefore, the development of methods that could modify these
surfaces in order to prevent the adhesion of Candida albicans, would be a
significant advancement in the treatment of this pathology.
Although the exact mechanisms involved in the adherence of
microorganisms to dentures are not completely known, various factors may
influence this process, among them, surface roughness and the presence of saliva.
The increase in surface roughness has been correlated with the greater ease of
fungal retention [3, 9]. On the other hand, the effect of saliva on this process is not
clear and the results are controversial [10-12]. Some authors [13-15] also point
out the influence of hydrophobic interactions. Minagi et al. [14] observed that the
closer the surface energy of the fungal cell and the substrate are, the greater the
probability of adherence occurring. Klotz et al. [13] observed a linear relationship
between the number of Candida albicans adhered per unit of area and the
hydrophobicity of polymers. Electrostatic interactions have also been mentioned
as another factor that could influence the adherence of microorganisms to
polymers [11, 13, 16]. Fungal cells, whose surfaces were electrically altered with
a positive charge, were shown to be more adherent, suggesting the action of
repulsive forces present between the fungi and polymers [13].
Thus, considering that the characteristics of the substrate are important for
Candida adherence [4, 17], the surface modification of the