Abstract
Adsorption of antimicrobial peptide histatin 5 on a poly(methyl methacrylate) denture base may serve to prevent biofilm formation, leading to a reduction of denture‐induced stomatitis. This study focused on adsorption behavior of histatin 5 onto PMMA surfaces modified using a cold plasma technique and the effectiveness of histatin 5 adsorption for reducing Candida albicans biofilm formation by the quartz crystal microbalance‐dissipation (QCM‐D) technique. PMMA spin‐coated specimens were treated with oxygen (O~2~) plasma using a plasma surface modification apparatus. The amount of histatin 5 adsorbed onto the PMMA treated with O~2~ plasma is more than six times greater than that adsorbed onto untreated PMMA. The degree of histatin 5 adsorption had a negative correlation with the contact angle, whereas that of zeta‐potential showed no significant correlation. XPS analysis revealed that the introduction of the carboxyl and O~2~ functional groups were observable on the O~2~ plasma‐treated PMMA. Increased surface hydrophilicity and the formation of the carboxyl could be responsible for histatin 5 adsorption on plasma‐treated PMMA. There is no significant difference between histatin‐adsorbed PMMA and control PMMA for C. albicans initially attached. On the contrary, the amount of C. albicans colonization on histatin‐adsorbed PMMA was significantly less than the control. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2006