Assessment of antifungal activity of ProRoot mineral trioxide aggregate and mineral trioxide aggregate-Angelus

Abstract

Background: Fungi may play a key part in periradicular diseases. The aim of this study was to
evaluate and compare the antifungal properties of two root-end filling materials, ProRoot Mineral
trioxide aggregate (MTA) and MTA-Angelus, against Candida albicans using tube-dilution test.
Materials and Methods: The antifungal properties of ProRoot MTA and MTA-Angelus against
C. albicans was assessed at 1, 24, and 48 hours following administration of two concentrations
of the antifungal agents (50 and 100 mg/ml). A total of 50 culture wells were divided into four
experimental groups (Freshly mixed MTA, Freshly mixed MTA-Angelus, 24-h set MTA, and 24-h
set MTA-Angelus) and two control groups. Each well was prepared for one specific agent with a
specific concentration. For the set groups, the mixture was prepared and left for 24 hours. One
milliliter of suspension of fungal colonies with concentration of 104 CFU/ml was then added to the
mixtures in each well. All wells were incubated at 37°C and assessed at 1, 24, and 48 hours. This
observation was based on the turbidity of the suspension in the tubes. At each time point, 0.02 ml
of each suspension was cultured on a Sabouraud dextrose agar plate to confirm C. albicans growth.
The results were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test.
Results: Although all fresh and set samples were incapable of killing C. albicans at 1 hour, they
demonstrated fungicidal ability on agar plates at 24 and 48-hour time points.
Conclusion: MTA-angelus proved to be an effective antifungal agent compared to ProRoot MTA
at concentrations of 50 mg/ml and 100 mg/ml.
Key Words: Antifungal agents, Candida, endodontic