Electrochemical bacteriocidal action based on electron transfer of salivary bacteria

Based upon the observation that most oral bacteria are negatively charged, we attempted to restrain the development of oral bacteria in saliva by applying a constant electric potential to an electrode. The development of salivary bacteria was clearly restrained by applying 0.74V electric current for 30 min. This restraint was in inverse proportion to the concentration of the suspension of salivary bacteria. The authors hypothesize that the electrochemical restraining was based on electron transfer between the salivary bacteria and the electrode.