Effect of heavy metals on bacterial adherence.

A preliminary examination has been made of the effects of salts of heavy metals on bacterial adherence. 3H-thymidine labelled strains of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from sputa were incubated with human buccal cells and metallic salts. 10(-4)M zinc or iron salts significantly increased adherence of Enterobacteriaceae to human bucal cells in an in-vitro system. These effects were not altered by variation of the buffer system used, and seem dependent upon interactions between metals and bacteria that occur within about 5 minutes.