Amphotericin B-Silver Hybrid Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Properties and Antifungal Activity
Krzysztof Tutaj, Radosław Szlązak, Katarzyna Szałapata, Joanna Starzyk, Rafał Luchowski, Wojciech Grudziński, Monika Osińska-Jaroszuk, Anna Jarosz-Wilkołazka, Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska and Wiesław I. Gruszecki
High antifungal activity is reported, in comparison with commercially available products, of a novel hybrid system based on silver nanoparticles synthesized using a popular antifungal antibiotic amphotericin B (AmB) acting both as a reducing and stabilizing/capping agent. The synthesis reaction proceeds in an alkaline environment which prevents aggregation of AmB itself and promotes nanoparticle formation. The innovative approach produces monodisperse (PDI=0.05), AmB-coated silver nanoparticles (AmB-AgNPs) with the diameter ~7 nm. The products were characterized using imaging (electron microscopy) and spectroscopic (UV-Vis and infrared absorption, dynamic light scattering and Raman scattering) methods. The nanoparticles were tested against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium culmorum species. For cytotoxicity studies CCD-841CoTr and THP-1 cell lines were used. Particularly high antifungal activity of AmB-AgNPs is interpreted as the result of synergy between the antifungal activity of amphotericin B and silver antimicrobial properties (Ag+ ions release).