FIG 2.

Mature C. albicans biofilms are susceptible to NO-np. Forty-eight-hour mature fungal biofilms were exposed to np or NO-np for 24 h, and their metabolic activities and viabilities were compared to those of untreated biofilms using the 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-5-[(phenylamino)carbonyl]-2H-tetrazolium hydroxide (XTT) reduction (A) and CFU (B) assays. For panels A and B, each symbol represents a C. albicans strain (three OD measurements and CFU plates per strain), bars signify the average (n = 11) for each experimental condition, and error bars indicate SDs. P value significance (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.001; ns, not significant) was calculated by ANOVA and adjusted by use of the Bonferroni correction. (C) Confocal microscopic examination of untreated, np-treated, or NO-np-treated C. albicans. Representative images of biofilms show metabolically active cells (FUN-1 staining, red) embedded in the polysaccharide extracellular material (ConA staining, green); the yellow-brownish areas represent metabolically inactive or nonviable cells. Scale bar, 20 μm. All experiments were performed twice, with similar results obtained each time.