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Calcium Modulates Interactions between Bacteria and Hydroxyapatite

¹ Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (CERELA), Chacabuco 145, 4000, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina;
² Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas (CONICET);
³ Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán;
⁴ Unidad de Actividad Química, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Comisión Nacional de Energia Atómica;
⁵ Instituto de Tecnologia Jorge Sabato, Universidad Nacional de General San Martin; and
⁶ Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad National de General San Martin

^* corresponding author, mapella{at}cerela.org.ar

Bacterial adhesion onto hydroxyapatite is known to depend on the surface properties of both the biomaterial and the bacterial strain, but less is known about the influence of the composition of the aqueous medium. Here, the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans and 3 different Lactobacilli on powdered hydroxyapatite was shown to change with Ca²⁺ concentration. The effect depends on the surface properties of each strain. Adhesion of Lactobacillus fermentum and salivarius (and of Streptococcus mutans at low Ca²⁺) was enhanced with increasing Ca²⁺ concentration. Lactobacillus casei was efficiently removed by adhesion on hydroxyapatite, even without Ca²⁺ addition, and the effect of this ion was only marginal. The results are interpreted in terms of Ca²⁺-mediated adhesion, and relative to the hydrophobic properties of each strain and the electrical properties of the bacterial and solid surfaces (electrophoretic mobility).

KEY WORDS: hydroxyapatite • bacteria • surface properties • interactions