Interfacial-electrochemical study on factors affecting surface characterization of mutans streptococci

Abstract

We investigated how different solutions and antibacterial agents affect the zeta potential of mutans streptococci. The zeta potential was related to serotype, growth rate and incubation time, and was affected by ion strength, pH and the presence of multivalent cations in the solutions. Furthermore, addition of NaF and chlorhexidine significantly decreased the zeta potential of mutans streptococci with larger negative zeta potentials. We concluded that the repulsive force due to surface potential energy between bacterium and hydroxyapatite was increased by lower ion strength, higher pH, and the absence of multivalent cations in the solutions.