ORIGINAL

Separation of Streptococcus mutans MT8148 by hydroxyapatite column chromatography, a new evaluation of bacterial adhesion

Abstract

A new method to evaluate the affinity for hydroxyapatite (HAP) was devised by the application of column chromatography. When oral Streptococcus mutans MT8148 was chromatographed, bacteria eluted into three groups with different degrees of aggregation. This system also demonstrated that prior treatment of HAP with parotid or whole saliva dramatically enhanced the affinity of Streptococcus mutans MT8148 (serotype c) to the column, such that bacteria could only be eluted by 4 M guanidine HCl.