Use of an oxygen planar optode to assess the effect of high velocity microsprays on oxygen penetration in a human dental biofilms in-vitro

Yalda Khosravi, Raja Durga Prasad Kandukuri, Sara Palmer, Erin S. Gloag, Sergey M. Borisov, E. Michelle Starke, Marilyn T. Ward, Purnima Kumar, Dirk De Beer, Arjun Chennu, Paul Stoodley*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Dental plaque biofilms are the causative agents of caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. Both mechanical and chemical strategies are used in routine oral hygiene strategies to reduce plaque build-up. If allowed to mature biofilms can create anoxic microenvironments leading to communities which harbor pathogenic Gram-negative anaerobes. When subjected to high velocity fluid jets and sprays biofilms can be fluidized which disrupts the biofilm structure and allows the more efficient delivery of antimicrobial agents. Methods: To investigate how such jets may disrupt anoxic niches in the biofilm, we used planar optodes to measure the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration at the base of in-vitro biofilms grown from human saliva and dental plaque. These biofilms were subject to "shooting"treatments with a commercial high velocity microspray (HVM) device. Results: HVM treatment resulted in removal of much of the biofilm and a concurrent rapid shift from anoxic to oxic conditions at the base of the surrounding biofilm. We also assessed the impact of HVM treatment on the microbial community by tracking 7 target species by qPCR. There was a general reduction in copy numbers of the universal 16S RNA by approximately 95%, and changes of individual species in the target region ranged from approximately 1 to 4 log reductions. Conclusion: We concluded that high velocity microsprays removed a sufficient amount of biofilm to disrupt the anoxic region at the biofilm-surface interface.

Original languageEnglish
Article number230
JournalBMC Oral Health
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Aug 2020

Keywords

  • Biofilm
  • Dissolved oxygen
  • Mechanical disruption
  • Microspray
  • Oral
  • Planar optodes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Dentistry(all)

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