Purpose: To evaluate the bactericidal effects of atmospheric non-thermal argon/oxygen plasma on in vitro oral biofilms constructed from S. mutans and/or S. sanguinis, and the influence of the plasma on the virulence properties of A. oris.
Methods: In vitro oral biofilms were constructed in the wells of 48-well plates from S. mutans and/or S. sanguinis. The wells containing constructed biofilms and various amounts of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) were treated with non-thermal argon/oxygen plasma brush for 2 minutes. The methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and Live/Dead assay were used to evaluate the viability of biofilms in those wells after the plasma treatments. Meanwhile, A. oris suspensions were treated with the plasma and then evaluated for their virulence properties by measuring the hydrophobicity and co-aggregation capability of treated A. oris.
Results: The MTT assay showed that exposure to non-thermal plasma for 2 minutes significantly reduced the viability of bacteria in both single-species and two-species biofilms of S. mutans and S. sanguinis with the reductions of up to 99%. Meanwhile, plasma treatment also altered the hydrophobicity of A. oris, and reduced their capability to co-aggregate with S. sanguinis.
Clinical significance: The results from this study demonstrated that atmospheric non-thermal argon/oxygen plasma could effectively deactivate oral bacteria biofilm by decreasing bacterial viability as well as reducing their hydrophobicity and co-aggregation capability.