Silver Nanoparticles Display Inhibitory Effect against Drug-Resistant Pathogenic Candida Isolates from Different Clinical Specimens

Document Type : Regular issue (Original Article)

Authors

1 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

2 Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

Abstract

The resistance of Candida to antifungal agents is an emerging global health problem, especially with the emergence of new species. Therefore, the focus has shifted to alternative agents like silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), received significant attention. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antifungal susceptibility of AgNPs against resistant Candida isolates from various clinical specimens. The antifungal effect of AgNPs was assessed by the broth microdilution method using different concentrations (0.062-1 µg/mL). The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC50) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of AgNPs were determined. As a result, of 109 recovered Candida isolates, 65.1%, and 34.9% were C. albicans andnon-albicans Candida (NAC), respectively. Moreover, 35.8% of the Candida isolates were non-susceptible to conventional antifungal drugs. The MIC50 of AgNPs against resistant isolates was lower (0.125-1 µg/mL) than that of fluconazole (1-64 µg/mL), itraconazole (0.016-4 µg/mL), voriconazole (0.016-4 µg/mL), and amphotericin B (0.016-1 µg/mL). The scanning electron micrograph revealed that AgNPs treatment alteredthe cell morphology of Candida. In conclusion, AgNPs exhibited a notable fungicidal effect against resistant Candida isolates and may be an adequate substitute for antifungal agents.

Keywords

Files

Cited by

Share

How to cite

Statistics