The objective of this study is to evaluate the plasma treatment effects on oral fungal biofilms. Candida albicans biofilms were developed on the 48-well plate to serve as a model of oral fungal biofilm. The treatment of 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) was used as a positive control compared with plasma treatments. The efficacy of treatments was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The survival percentage of Candida albicans decreased from 52% to 27% as the plasma power increased from 6mA to 8mA and plasma exposure time extended from 2 min to 10 min. Moreover, it was found that there is a synergistic effect of the combination of plasma and CHX treatments. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination indicated severe cell damages resulting from plasma treatment. In conclusion, the low-temperature plasma treatment is effective in deactivating Candida albicans biofilms and thus provides a promising alternative to disinfect oral fungal biofilms.
Keywords: Candida albicans; Low-temperature plasma; biofilm disinfection; oral fungal biofilm.