Methods: A total of 36 polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA,Vertex, Rapid Simplified; Netherlands) specimens incorporated with various concentrations of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs, Sigma-Aldrich; St.Louis, MO, USA):0.5%, 1%, 1.5% (w/w) and controls without AgNPs (0%) were fabricated. C.albicans biofilm assay was performed on PMMA specimens in the presence of yeast nitrogen base broth (YNB) supplemented with 100 mM glucose at 37ºC for 48 h. Then the biofilm formation was evaluated by tetrazolium (XTT) reduction assay. Data were analysed by one way ANOVA at 95% confidence interval.
Results: Compared with controls, PMMA specimens containing 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% of AgNPs showed significant reduction of biofilm by 38.0%, 38.6% and 41.2% , respectively over 48 h (p<0.05). No significant difference on biofilm formation was observed among specimens containing various concentrations of AgNPs.
Conclusions: The PMMA incorporated with silver nanoparticles showed anticandidal activity against biofilm formation of C. albicans. Hence, these modified PMMA can be used as an alternative method to prevent or treat denture stomatitis associated with Candida.