Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Bacterial Polysaccharides in Dental Plaque

Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor Roy Russell

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

Dental plaque is a complex biofilm containing several hundred different species of bacteria. While these are normally harmless commensals, shifts in the population structure can lead to the plaque-related diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease. Surface polysaccharides are important in coaggregation reactions that bind particular species together and aid colonisation and metabolic interaction while sucrose-derived glucans and fructans have a significant effect on plaque properties. Fructans serve as an extracellular energy store while glucans contribute to adhesion, modify the permeability of plaque and alter ion-binding capacity and thus have a powerful influence on the creation of conditions in plaque that can lead to dental caries.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Russell RRB

Editor(s): Ullrich M

Publication type: Book Chapter

Publication status: Published

Book Title: Bacterial Polysaccharides: Current Innovations and Future Trends

Year: 2009

Pages: 143-158

Publisher: Caister Academic Press

Place Published: Norfolk

URL: http://www.horizonpress.com/polysaccharides

Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item

ISBN: 9781904455455


Share