Sangavi Ravichellam, Jothi Ravi, Malligarjunan Nambiraman, Raja Veerapandian, Pandian Shunmugiah Karutha, Gowrishankar Shanmugaraj
Department of Biotechnology, Science Campus, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, India.
Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Center of Emphasis in Infectious Diseases, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, TX, 79905, USA.
Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2025 Apr;197(4):2274-2300. doi: 10.1007/s12010-024-05119-7. Epub 2024 Dec 28.
Early childhood caries (ECC), a severe form of dental caries, is exacerbated by the synergistic interaction between Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans, leading to greater disease severity than their individual effects. This underscores the need for more targeted and potent therapeutic alternatives. Given the promising anti-infective properties of quaternary ammonium surfactants (QAS), this study explores the microbicidal properties of one such QAS, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), against both individual- and dual-species cultures of S. mutans and C. albicans for effective ECC treatment. Initially, the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of CTAC were determined to range from 4 to 8 µg/mL against S. mutans, C. albicans, and dual-species cultures. Time-kill kinetics, assessed via spot assays and spectrometry, demonstrated that CTAC completely eradicated both individual- and dual-species cultures within 30 min of exposure. Furthermore, at sub-MIC concentrations, CTAC effectively reduced biofilm formation and virulence traits in S. mutans (including acidogenicity and aciduricity) and C. albicans (including yeast-to-hyphal transition and filamentation). To explore therapeutic application, a mouthwash containing CTAC was formulated. The results showed that the formulated CTAC mouthwash was as effective at eradicating pathogens as a commercially available mouthwash containing 0.075% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC). Moreover, the CTAC mouthwash maintained stable physicochemical characteristics and antimicrobial activity over 4 weeks. It exhibited rapid killing activity against pathogens, achieving efficacy within just 2 min of exposure. Fluorescence microscopy and SEM micrographs confirmed the strong biofilm eradication potential of the CTAC mouthwash. The non-toxic nature of the formulated mouthwash was validated using human buccal epithelial cells, and in vivo studies further demonstrated that CTAC mouthwash significantly reduced bacterial and fungal loads in Galleria mellonella. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the potential application of QAS-CTAC in the treatment of ECC.
幼儿龋齿（ECC）是一种严重的龋齿形式，变形链球菌和白色念珠菌之间的协同相互作用会使其恶化，导致病情比它们各自单独作用时更严重。这凸显了需要更有针对性且有效的治疗选择。鉴于季铵表面活性剂（QAS）具有良好的抗感染特性，本研究探索了一种此类QAS——十六烷基三甲基氯化铵（CTAC）对变形链球菌和白色念珠菌的单菌种及双菌种培养物的杀菌特性，以有效治疗ECC。最初，确定CTAC对变形链球菌、白色念珠菌及双菌种培养物的最低抑菌浓度（MIC）范围为4至8μg/mL。通过点样试验和光谱法评估的时间杀灭动力学表明，CTAC在暴露30分钟内完全根除了单菌种和双菌种培养物。此外，在亚MIC浓度下，CTAC有效减少了变形链球菌（包括产酸性和耐酸性）和白色念珠菌（包括酵母到菌丝的转变和丝状化）中的生物膜形成及毒力特性。为探索治疗应用，配制了含CTAC的漱口水。结果表明，配制的CTAC漱口水在根除病原体方面与含0.075%西吡氯铵（CPC）的市售漱口水一样有效。此外，CTAC漱口水在4周内保持了稳定的理化特性和抗菌活性。它对病原体表现出快速杀灭活性，在暴露仅2分钟内就达到了疗效。荧光显微镜和扫描电子显微镜图像证实了CTAC漱口水强大的生物膜根除潜力。使用人颊上皮细胞验证了配制漱口水的无毒性质，体内研究进一步表明，CTAC漱口水显著降低了大蜡螟体内的细菌和真菌载量。总体而言，本研究结果突出了QAS-CTAC在ECC治疗中的潜在应用。
