[Ultrastructural study of the action of concentrated solutions of chlorhexidine digluconate on cocci in salivary flora in vitro].

Chlorhexidine digluconate is a potent antibacterial compound widely used in stomatology. In this work the authors studied the ultrastructural alterations of cocci in salivary flora, treated "in vitro" with high concentrations of chlorhexidine digluconate (0.5%, 1% and 2%). The effect of chlorhexidine 0.5% on the cocci revealed rarefaction of the cytoplasm, ruptures of the cellular wall and alterations of the protoplasm in the form of "plasmoptysis" and "plasmolysis". Treatment of the cocci with higher concentrations (1% and 2%) of the drug caused a change in the appearance of the protoplasm, showing a general coagulation, damage of the cytoplasmic membrane and the cellular wall, malformation of the cell and disorganization of the nuclear chromatin. The ultrastructural alterations observed are in agreement with the results of preliminary biochemical studies.