| Candida albicans comprises part of the normal human flora whose growth is usually restricted by the normal flora bacteria and the host's immune system. C. albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen which causes infections in immunocompromised individuals, mechanical trauma victims, and iatrogenic patients. C. albicans can ingress the human host by adhering to a plastic surface (i.e., prosthetic devices, catheters, artificial organs, etc.) and forming a protective biofilm which provides a continuous reservoir of yeast to be hematogeneously dispersed. In order to battle device-related infections, the mechanisms of adhesion and biofilm formation of C. albicans must be recognized. A well-defined culture surface allows the initial adhesion and biofilm development to be studied. There has been some skepticism as to whether the initial adhesion events have any relationship to subsequent biofilm formation. Thus, to better comprehend the relationship between the initial adhesion rates and the long term growth rate and mature biofilm formation, these events were studied on two different culture surfaces, native polystyrene and Pluronic F127-conditioned polystyrene. The adhesion studies determined that Pluronic F127 adsorption dramatically reduced the adhesion of C. albicans to polystyrene, regardless of serotype. The biofilm growth studies, analyzed by confocal scanning laser microscopy, revealed that Pluronic F127 decreased the biofilm surface coverage, cluster group size, thickness, and the presence of hyphal elements over the untreated polystyrene. These findings indicate that the effect of a material's surface chemistry on the initial adhesion process has a direct influence on subsequent biofilm formation. |
