Evaluation of Candida albicans adherence on the surface of various maxillofacial silicone materials

Objectives. - Fungal infection resulting from Candida adherence on material surface is one of Maxillofacial silicone the most important medical risks for maxillofacial prosthesis wearers. Despite wide usage, there prosthesis is a sparse data evaluating C. albicans adherence on various commercial maxillofacial silicone materials that have different surface contact angles. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between surface contact angle and fungal adherence on widely used maxillofacial silicone materials. Materials and methods. - Three maxillofacial silicone materials titled VST-50, A-2006, and A-2186F were used for fabrication of disc-shaped specimens. Surface contact angle of specimens were measured by the goniometric method. Adhesion quantity of two different C. albicans strains was evaluated with a colorimetric method using XTT/Coenzyme Q(0). The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analysis of data. Results. - The lowest surface contact angle values with the highest Candida adhesion quantity were measured on the specimens fabricated with A-2006 silicone material. Statistically significant differences were found among three maxillofacial silicone materials in terms of both surface contact angle values and adhesion quantity (P < 0.01). Conclusion. - There is a close relationship between surface contact angle and quantity of Candida adherence. However, it should be noted that various factors arising from material properties may affect the complex nature of the Candida adhesion process. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.