INFLUENCE OF ZINC-OXIDE ON ASPERGILLUS SP ECIES - A POSSIBLE CAUSE OFLOCAL NONINVASIVE ASPERGILLOSIS OF THE MAXILLARY SINUS

During the last years the appearance of radiopaque concrements in the maxillary sinus was reported. These could be identified as root-fillin g material for teeth of the upper jaw containing zinc oxide. This sugg ested that excess root-filling material containing zinc oxide in the m axillary sinus could favour the development of a local, non-invasive a spergillosis. Therefore, we tested Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, A . terreus, A. nidulans and A. niveus for the influence of zinc oxide. Czapek-Dox agar was inoculated with the six different As pergillus str ains. Circular cavities stamped into the agar's center of each plate w ere filled with aliquots of the dilutions of a geometric series of zin c oxide dissolved in 0,1n H2SO4. All plates were then incubated for se ven days at 37 degrees C. Readings were taken on the 3rd, the 5th and the 7th day. It became obvious that solved zinc oxide promotes the gro wth of all the tested Aspergillus species. This influence diminished w ith decreasing concentration. This effect could be observed on all day s of measurement. Only A. niger showed an attenuated dependence, proba bly due to the a priori high growth rate of this species on Czapek-Dox agar. It is concluded that overfilling of maxillary teeth with a zinc oxide containing root filling material favours the development of loc al aspergillosis.