Diffusion of small ionic species in human saliva, plaque fluid and plaque residue in vitro.

The tracer diffusion of small ionic species was investigated in water, saliva, dental plaque fluid and in plaque residue packed by a range of g forces. Diffusion rate of NaCl was similar in water, saliva and plaque fluid. The rate of CaCl2, NaH2PO4, Na2HPO4 and Na2SO4 was less in both saliva and plaque fluid. Diffusion rate of all ionic species tested was significantly less in plaque residue, most of all for CaCl2. In plaque fluid, plaque residue and water, an inverse linear relationship was found between log diffusion coefficients and log molecular weights. Increasing the tortuosity of the diffusion path, by packing plaque residue, further reduced the diffusion rate of NaH2PO4 and NaHCO3. In terms of three-dimensional diffusion, in plaque fluid, NaH2PO4, Na2HPO4 and CaCl2 diffused a distance of 300 microns within 25 s, whereas in plaque residue the equivalent diffusion times were 1.5-5.7 min. The unique retardation of CaCl2 in plaque residue implicated both non-specific and specific binding interactions.