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Combination Therapy of Clinically Approved Antifungal Drugs Is Enhanced by Conjugation with Silver Nanoparticles

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Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (SN) have been recently developed as a new class of antimicrobial agents against numerous pathogenic microorganisms. SN have also been used as efficient drug delivery systems and have been linked with increasing drug potency. Here, we demonstrated the enhanced antifungal efficacy of nystatin (NYT) and fluconazole (FLU) after conjugation with SN. The antifungal bioactivity of NYT- and FLU-coated SN was evaluated against Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Aspergillus brasiliensis ATCC 16404 by the agar tube dilution method. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the antifungal efficacy of NYT and FLU with their SN and, finally, the combination of both nanoparticles as NYT-SN + FLU-SN against pathogenic fungi. The results indicated that all test samples showed a dose-dependent response against tested fungi. SN significantly enhanced the antifungal effects of NYT and FLU as compared to drugs alone. We observed a remarkable increase in the percent inhibition of both fungi (90–100%) when treated with a combination of both nanoparticles NYT-SN + FLU-SN at 200 μg/mL only. Furthermore, the morphological modifications occurred at the surface of fungal species were also analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). While tested against primary human cell line, all SN showed negligible cytotoxicity. Hence, these results suggest that the combination of SN with NYT and FLU may have clinical implications in the treatment of fungal infections. However, in vivo studies are needed before recommending the use of these nanoparticles safely in clinical situations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, and the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan, and Sunway University, Selangor, Malaysia, for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan

    Muhammad Asim Hussain & Itrat Anis

  2. International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan

    Dania Ahmed, Samina Perveen, Shakil Ahmed & Muhammad Raza Shah

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

    Ayaz Anwar & Naveed Ahmed Khan

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  1. Muhammad Asim Hussain
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  2. Dania Ahmed
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  3. Ayaz Anwar
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  5. Shakil Ahmed
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Correspondence to Naveed Ahmed Khan.

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Hussain, M.A., Ahmed, D., Anwar, A. et al. Combination Therapy of Clinically Approved Antifungal Drugs Is Enhanced by Conjugation with Silver Nanoparticles. Int Microbiol 22, 239–246 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-018-00043-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-018-00043-3

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