ABSTRACTAlthough several methods are available for examination of microbial adherence to epithelial cells, these do not distinguish between adherence of viable and non‐viable micro‐organisms. This study reports the use of acridine orange‐stained blastospores ofCandida albicansin conjunction with direct epifluorescence microscopy to determine viable (orange‐fluorescing) and non‐viable (green‐fluorescing) blastospore adherence to buccal epithelial cells. The method was also employed to examine the effects of chlorhexidine treatment at sub‐minimum inhibitory concentrations on the adherence of viable and non‐viable blastospores.There was good correlation in the assessment of blastospore viability between the direct epifluorescence microscopy technique and the standard serial dilution and plating method for viable counting, confirming the reliability of direct epifluorescence microscopy. Chlorhexidine treatment before acridine orange staining did not alter this assessment of viability. Blastospore adherence to buccal epithelial cells resulted in a similarly skewed distribution whether examined using a crystal violet stain in conjunction with light microscopy or using direct epifluorescence microscopy, therefore validating the direct epifluorescence microscopy technique for the enumeration of blastospore adherence. Chlorhexidine treatment (0.0005 v/v, 30 min) of either blastospores or buccal epithelial cells altered the distribution of adherent blastospores per epithelial cell by increasing the number of epithelial cells having no adherent blastospores. No differences in adherence were, however, observed between blastospore or epithelial cells after treatment with this agent. Examination of the adherence of viable and non‐viable blastospores to buccal epithelial cells using direct epifluorescence microscopy revealed a greater adherence capacity of non‐viable than viable blastospores for buccal epithelial cells. Treatment of blastospores with chlorhexidine altered the frequency distributions of viable and non‐viable blastospores with lower numbers of blastospores adherent per epithelial cell. The larger reduction in adherent viable blastospores in comparison with their non‐viable counterparts is, however, an important observation which might have clinical relevance.Microbial cells adhere to epithelial cells resulting in a skewed distribution; study of this distribution gives useful information about the adherence process. Viable and non‐viable components of a microbial population have different adherence capabilities and treatment of such populations with an antimicrobial agent exerting anti‐adherent activity at sub‐minimum inhibitory concentrations reduces the amount of adherence of these viable/non‐viable
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