scholarly journals Antifungal Properties of Nerolidol-Containing Liposomes in Association with Fluconazole

Membranes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Camila Fonseca Bezerra ◽  
José Geraldo de Alencar Júnior ◽  
Rosilaine de Lima Honorato ◽  
Antonia Thassya Lucas dos Santos ◽  
Josefa Carolaine Pereira da Silva ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Infections by Candida species represent a serious threat to the health of immunocompromised individuals. Evidence has indicated that nerolidol has significant antifungal properties. Nonetheless, its use is restricted due to a low water solubility and high photosensitivity. The incorporation into liposomes may represent an efficient alternative to improve the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of this compound. The present study aimed to characterize the antifungal properties of liposomal nerolidol, alone or in combination with fluconazole. Of note, this is the first study reporting the antifungal activity of liposomal nerolidol and its potentiating effect in association with fluconazole. (2) Methods: The Inhibitory Concentration 50%-IC50 and minimum fungicide concentrations (MFC) of the substances against Candida albicans (CA), Candida tropicalis (CT), and Candida krusei (CK) were established by subculture in a solid medium. To evaluate the antifungal-enhancing effect, the MFC of fluconazole was determined in the presence or absence of subinhibitory concentrations of nerolidol (free or liposomal). The analysis of fungal dimorphism was performed through optical microscopy and the characterization of liposomes was carried out considering the vesicular size, polydispersion index, and zeta medium potential, in addition to a scanning electron microscopy analysis. (3) Results: The physicochemical characterization revealed that liposomes were obtained as homogenous populations of spherical vesicles. The data obtained in the present study indicate that nerolidol acts as an antifungal agent against Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis, in addition to potentiating (only in the liposomal form) the effect of fluconazole. However, the compound had little inhibitory effect on fungal dimorphism. (4) Conclusions: The incorporation of nerolidol into liposomes improved its antifungal-modulating properties.

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 5114
Author(s):  
Wei-Hsuan Lo ◽  
Fu-Sheng Deng ◽  
Chih-Jung Chang ◽  
Ching-Hsuan Lin

(1) Background: Few antifungal drugs are currently available, and drug-resistant strains have rapidly emerged. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the antifungal activity from a combinational treatment of chitosan with a clinical antifungal drug on Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. (2) Methods: Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests, checkerboard assays, and disc assays were employed to determine the inhibitory effect of chitosan with or without other antifungal drugs on C. albicans and C. tropicalis. (3) Results: Treatment with chitosan in combination with fluconazole showed a great synergistic fungicidal effect against C. albicans and C. tropicalis, but an indifferent effect on antifungal activity when challenged with chitosan-amphotericin B or chitosan-caspofungin simultaneously. Furthermore, the combination of chitosan and fluconazole was effective against drug-resistant strains. (4) Conclusions: These findings provide strong evidence that chitosan in combination with fluconazole is a promising therapy against two Candida species and its drug-resistant strains.


Antibiotics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Laura Mena ◽  
Muriel Billamboz ◽  
Rogatien Charlet ◽  
Bérangère Desprès ◽  
Boualem Sendid ◽  
...  

Candidiasis, caused by the opportunistic yeast Candida albicans, is the most common fungal infection today. Resistance of C. albicans to current antifungal drugs has emerged over the past decade leading to the need for novel antifungal agents. Our aim was to select new antifungal compounds by library-screening methods and to assess their antifungal effects against C. albicans. After screening 90 potential antifungal compounds from JUNIA, a chemical library, two compounds, 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-((4-chlorophenyl)amino)-3,6-dimethylpyridin-2(1H)-one (PYR) and (Z)-N-(2-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)vinyl)-4-methoxyaniline (TRI), were identified as having potential antifungal activity. Treatment with PYR and TRI resulted in a significant reduction of C. albicans bioluminescence as well as the number of fungal colonies, indicating rapid fungicidal activity. These two compounds were also effective against clinically isolated fluconazole- or caspofungin-resistant C. albicans strains. PYR and TRI had an inhibitory effect on Candida biofilm formation and reduced the thickness of the mannan cell wall. In a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model, PYR and TRI decreased the mortality of nematodes infected with C. albicans and enhanced the expression of antimicrobial genes that promote C. albicans elimination. Overall, PYR and TRI showed antifungal properties against C. albicans by exerting fungicidal activities and enhancing the antimicrobial gene expression of Caenorhabditis elegans.


Author(s):  
F. O. Omoya ◽  
T. E. Omole ◽  
O. A. Falese ◽  
K. O. Ajayi

Introduction: Natural products have been used in traditional medicines for treatment of infections due to the antimicrobial activity they exhibit. This study therefore evaluates the efficacy of honey, ginger (Zingiber officinale) and garlic (Allium sativum) extracts on microorganisms isolated from throat of patients with throat infection. Methods: The antibacterial and antifungal efficacy of honey, ginger (Zingiber officinale) and garlic (Allium sativum) extracts was investigated against microorganisms isolated from throats of infected patients at the ENT Department of State Specialist Hospital, Akure, using agar disc diffusion and agar well diffusion technique respectively. Results: Bacteria isolated from patients with throat infection were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus mirabilis while the fungal isolates were Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. The antibacterial and antifungal assay results showed that all bacterial isolates were inhibited by honey, garlic and ginger extract. Honey, ginger and garlic showed highest inhibition against P. mirabilis (19.01±0.31 mm), P. aeruginosa (20.20±0.42 mm) and S. aureus (23.00±0.01 mm) respectively also, antifungal assay results showed that all the extracts had antifungal effect on the fungal isolates. The combination of equal concentrations of honey plus garlic showed the highest inhibitory effect on all the test bacteria followed by honey plus ginger then garlic plus ginger while the combination of honey plus garlic had the highest inhibitory effect on Candida albicans (21.63±0.02 mm) but garlic plus ginger combination showed the highest inhibitory effect on Candida tropicalis (21.68±0.04 mm). Conclusion: The result of this study therefore showed that the bacteria and fungi isolated from throat of patients with throats infection demonstrated sensitivity towards the tested samples of honey, garlic and ginger and hence, can serve as effective therapeutic agents in the treatment of throat infections.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 797-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula dos Passos Menezes ◽  
Francielly de Oliveira Araujo ◽  
Tatianny Araujo Andrade ◽  
Igor Araujo Santos Trindade ◽  
Heitor Gomes de Araujo-Filho ◽  
...  

Background: Some research studies have shown that Lippia pedunculosa essential oil (EOLP) has interesting biological activities. However, its low water solubility is the main challenge to achieve its therapeutic potential. In this context, Cyclodextrins (CDs) have been widely used in order to overcome this problem due to your capability to improve the physicochemical properties of drugs. Objective: In this perspective, the main goal of this study was to investigate how the improvement of the physicochemical properties of inclusion complexes (EOLP and β-CD) enhance the antinociceptive effect in mice. Methods: To achieve that, we prepared samples by Physical Mixture (PM), Paste Complexation (PC) and Slurry Complexation (SC) methods, followed by their physicochemical characterization. In addition, it was evaluated if the use of β-CD enhances the antinociceptive effect of EOLP in mice. Results: The analysis showed that rotundifolone (72.02%) was the major compound of EOLP and we found out based on DSC results that β-CD protected it from oxidation. In addition, TG techniques demonstrated that the best inclusion methods were PC and SC, due to their greater weight loss (10.8 and 11.6%, respectively) in the second stage (171-312°C), indicating that more complexed oil was released at the higher temperature than oil free. Other characteristics, such as changes in the typical crystalline form, and reduced particle size were observed by SEM and laser diffraction, respectively. The SC was the most effective complexation method, once the presence of rotundifolone was detected by FTIR. Based on that, SC method was used in all mice tests. In this regard, the number of paw licks was reduced for both compounds (all doses), but EOLP was more effective in reducing the nociceptive behavior. Conclusion: Therefore, CDs seem not to be a good tool to enhance the pharmacological properties of EOs rich in peroxide compounds such as rotundifolone.


2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-85
Author(s):  
Ghassan M. Sulaiman ◽  
◽  
Summaya N. Howar ◽  
Batool Z. Ali ◽  
◽  
...  

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1140
Author(s):  
Silvana Alfei ◽  
Gabriella Piatti ◽  
Debora Caviglia ◽  
Anna Maria Schito

The growing resistance of bacteria to current chemotherapy is a global concern that urgently requires new and effective antimicrobial agents, aimed at curing untreatable infection, reducing unacceptable healthcare costs and human mortality. Cationic polymers, that mimic antimicrobial cationic peptides, represent promising broad-spectrum agents, being less susceptible to develop resistance than low molecular weight antibiotics. We, thus, designed, and herein report, the synthesis and physicochemical characterization of a water-soluble cationic copolymer (P5), obtained by copolymerizing the laboratory-made monomer 4-ammoniumbuthylstyrene hydrochloride with di-methyl-acrylamide as uncharged diluent. The antibacterial activity of P5 was assessed against several multi-drug-resistant clinical isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. Except for strains characterized by modifications of the membrane charge, most of the tested isolates were sensible to the new molecule. P5 showed remarkable antibacterial activity against several isolates of genera Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and against Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, displaying a minimum MIC value of 3.15 µM. In time-killing and turbidimetric studies, P5 displayed a rapid non-lytic bactericidal activity. Due to its water-solubility and wide bactericidal spectrum, P5 could represent a promising novel agent capable of overcoming severe infections sustained by bacteria resistant the presently available antibiotics.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Iulia Pinzaru ◽  
Cristian Sarau ◽  
Dorina Coricovac ◽  
Iasmina Marcovici ◽  
Crinela Utescu ◽  
...  

Betulinic acid (BA), a natural compound with various health benefits including selective antitumor activity, has a limited applicability in vivo due to its poor water solubility and bioavailability. Thus, this study focused on obtaining a BA nano-sized formulation with improved solubility and enhanced antitumor activity using silver nanocolloids (SilCo and PEG_SilCo) as drug carriers. The synthesis was performed using a chemical method and the physicochemical characterization was achieved applying UV-Vis absorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman and photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS). The biological evaluation was conducted on two in vitro experimental models—hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and lung cancer (A549) cell lines. The physicochemical characterization showed the following results: an average hydrodynamic diameter of 32 nm for SilCo_BA and 71 nm for PEG_SilCo_BA, a spherical shape, and a loading capacity of 54.1% for SilCo_BA and 61.9% for PEG_SilCo_BA, respectively. The in vitro assessment revealed a cell type- and time-dependent cytotoxic effect characterized by a decrease in cell viability as follows: (i) SilCo_BA (66.44%) < PEG_SilCo_BA (72.05%) < BA_DMSO (75.30%) in HepG2 cells, and (ii) SilCo_BA (75.28%) < PEG_SilCo_BA (86.80%) < BA_DMSO (87.99%) in A549 cells. The novel silver nanocolloids loaded with BA induced an augmented anticancer effect as compared to BA alone.


Author(s):  
Noha Saleh ◽  
Soha Elshaer ◽  
Germeen Girgis

Background: Fluconazole (FLZ), a potent antifungal medication, is characterized by poor water solubility that reduced its antifungal efficacy. Objective: This study aimed to prepare FLZ-loaded polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) by using different polymers and techniques as a mean of enhancing the antifungal activity of FLZ. Methods: NP1, NP2, and NP3 were prepared by the double emulsion/solvent evaporation method using PLGA, PCL, and PLA, respectively. The ionotropic pre-gelation technique was applied to prepare an alginate/chitosan-based formulation (NP4). Particle size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and loading capacity were characterized. FT-IR spectra of FLZ, the polymers, and the prepared NPs were estimated. NP4 was selected for further in-vitro release evaluation. The broth dilution method was used to assess the antifungal activity of NP4 using a resistant clinical isolate of Candida albicans. Results: The double emulsion method produced smaller-sized particles (<390 nm) but with much lower encapsulation efficiency (< 12%). Alternatively, the ionic gelation method resulted in nanosized particles with a markedly higher encapsulation efficiency of about 40%. The FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed the loading of the FLZ molecules in the polymeric network of the prepared NPs. The release profile of NP4 showed a burst initial release followed by a controlled pattern up to 24 hours with a higher percent released relative to the free FLZ suspension. NP4 was able to reduce the value of MIC of FLZ by 20 times. Conclusion: The antifungal activity of FLZ against C. albicans was enhanced markedly via its loading in the alginate/chitosan-based polymeric matrix of NP4.


1980 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 808-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Wingard ◽  
J D Dick ◽  
W G Merz ◽  
G R Sandford ◽  
R Saral ◽  
...  

The ability of clinical isolates of Candida albicans and candida tropicalis to invade through normal and damaged gastrointestinal mucosa was determined. Adult mice were treated with either gentamicin or gentamicin and cytarabine. Suspensions of yeast cells (10(7)) were administered through a catheter intraesophageally. Invasion was determined by culturing liver, kidney, and lung tissue from mice sacrificed after 48 h. C. albicans and C. tropicalis were incapable of invading through normal gastrointestinal mucosa in mice treated only with gentamicin. Two isolates of C. tropicalis penetrated the damaged gastrointestinal mucosa in 69% (49 of 71) of mice treated with gentamicin and cytarabine. In contrast, three isolates of C. albicans penetrated he damaged gastrointestinal mucosa in only 23% (14 of 62) of mice. These results suggest that C. tropicalis is more capable of invading through damaged gastrointestinal mucosa than C. albicans. The observations in this mouse model parallel those seen in patients on cytotoxic drugs. Therefore, this model offers a tool for investigation of the pathogenicity of these organisms in a model analogous to the compromised host.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Coradi Tonon ◽  
Renata Serignoli Francisconi ◽  
Ester Alves Ferreira Bordini ◽  
Patrícia Milagros Maquera Huacho ◽  
Janaína de Cássia Orlandi Sardi ◽  
...  

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of Terpinen-4-ol associated with nystatin, on single and mixed species biofilms formed by Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis, as well as the effect of terpinen-4-ol on adhesion in oral cells and the enzymatic activity. The minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum fungicide concentrations of terpinen-4-ol and nystatin on Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis were determined using the microdilution broth method, along with their synergistic activity (“checkerboard” method). Single and mixed species biofilms were prepared using the static microtiter plate model and quantified by colony forming units (CFU/mL). The effect of Terpinen-4-ol in adhesion of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis in coculture with oral keratinocytes (NOK Si) was evaluated, as well as the enzymatic activity by measuring the size of the precipitation zone, after the growth agar to phospholipase, protease and hemolysin. Terpinen-4-ol (4.53 mg mL-1) and nystatin (0.008 mg mL-1) were able to inhibit biofilms growth, and a synergistic antifungal effect was showed with the drug association, reducing the inhibitory concentration of nystatin up to 8 times in single biofilm of Candida albicans, and 2 times in mixed species biofilm. A small decrease in the adhesion of Candida tropicalis in NOK Si cells was showed after treatment with terpinen-4-ol, and nystatin had a greater effect for both species. For enzymatic activity, the drugs showed no action. The effect potentiated by the combination of terpinen-4-ol and nystatin and the reduction of adhesion provide evidence of its potential as an anti-fungal agent.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document