This study was performed to observe the antibacterial effect of polyphosphate (polyP) with various chain lengths (P3~P75) on virulent, invasive strains of P. gingivalis A7A1-28 and W50, and multidrug resistant E. faecalis ATCC29212. P. gingivalis strains were grown in brain-heart infusion broth (BHI) containing hemin and vitamin K with or without polyP. PolyP was added at the very beginning of the culture or during the exponential growth phase of the culture. Inhibition of the growth of P. gingivalis was determined by measuring the absorbancy at 540nm of the grown cells. Viable cell counts of the culture and release of intracellular nucleotide from P. gingivalis were measured. E. faecalis was grown in plain BHI with antibiotics alone or in combination with polyP(calgon; 0.1~1.0%) and the bacterial absorbancy was measured.

The overall results suggest that polyP has a strong antibacterial effect on the growth of the virulent strains of P. gingivalis and the antibacterial activity of polyP seems largely bactericidal, accompanying bacteriolysis in which chelation phenomenon is not involved. Although polyP does not exert antibacterial activity against E. faecalis, it appears to increase antibacterial effect of erythromycin and tetracycline on the bacterium. Therefore, polyP alone or in combination with antibiotics may be developed as a candidate for the agent controlling oral infections including endodontic infection.