The surface free energy of oral streptococci after being coated with saliva and its relation to adhesion in the mouth.

Contact angle measurements on layers of bacteria were used to determine the bacterial surface free energy (gamma b) of a variety of oral streptococcal strains, both without and after being coated with human whole saliva. At least four isolates of each species, either freshly isolated or laboratory strains, were used. The species Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguis, and S. salivarius were homogeneous, having high surface free energies, and were not affected by saliva treatment (gamma b = 106 +/- 12 and 107 +/- 10 erg X cm-2 in the absence and presence of saliva coating, respectively; n = 20). S. mitis had a very low surface free energy (46 +/- 15; n = 5), which was significantly increased after salivary adsorption (71 +/- 14 erg X cm-2; p less than 0.002). The species S. milleri contained strains with both high and low gamma b. Calculation of the interfacial free energy of adhesion (delta F adh) for bacteria from a saliva suspension to solid surfaces with various arbitrary surface free energies (gamma s) showed that, theoretically, most strains will encounter thermodynamically favorable conditions for adhesion to surfaces with a gamma s above 62 erg X cm-2. However, S. mitis strains not coated with saliva would only be able to adhere to surfaces with gamma s lower than this value. Saliva-coating reverses the calculated relationship with gamma s for these strains. The results indicate that an enamel surface with a low gamma s value would be thermodynamically unfavorable for adhesion of most oral streptococci.