Nanoscale Surface Roughness Influences Candida albicans Biofilm Formation

The microbial contamination of surfaces presents a significant challenge due to the adverse effects associated with biofilm formation, particularly on implantable devices. Here, the attachment and biofilm formation of the opportunistic human pathogen, Candida albicans ATCC 10231, were studied on surfaces with decreasing magnitudes of nanoscale roughness. The nanoscale surface roughness of nonpolished titanium, polished titanium, and glass was characterized according to average surface roughness, skewness, and kurtosis. Nonpolished titanium, polished titanium, and glass possessed average surface roughness (S_a) values of 350, 20, and 2.5 nm; skewness (S_skw) values of 1.0, 4.0, and 1.0; and (S_kur) values of 3.5, 16, and 4, respectively. These unique characteristics of the surface nanoarchitecture were found to play a key role in limiting C. albicans attachment and modulating the functional phenotypic changes associated with biofilm formation. Our results suggest that surfaces with a specific combination of surface topographical parameters could prevent the attachment and biofilm formation of C. albicans. After 7 days, the density of attached C. albicans cells was recorded to be 230, 70, and 220 cells mm^-2 on nonpolished titanium, polished titanium, and glass surfaces, respectively. Despite achieving a very low attachment density, C. albicanscells were only observed to produce hyphae associated with biofilm formation on nonpolished titanium surfaces, possessing the highest degree of surface roughness (S_a = 350 nm). This study provides a more comprehensive picture of the impact of surface architectures on C. albicans attachment, which is beneficial for the design of antifungal surfaces.