Title:Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles and Stressors Generate Synergistic Growth
Inhibition in Candida Species through Cell Wall Damage, Osmotic Stress,
and Oxidative Stress
Volume: 24
Issue: 13
Author(s): José Antonio Cervantes-Chávez, Gastón García-Bouchot, Nataly García-Gutiérrez, Hayde Azeneth Vergara- Castañeda, Rufino Nava-Mendoza, Gabriel Luna-Bárcenas, Eduardo Arturo Elizalde-Peña, Edgardo Ulises Esquivel-Naranjo, Fidel Landeros-Jaime, Norma Gabriela Rojas-Avelizapa and Héctor Pool*
Affiliation:
- División de Investigación y Posgrado, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad
Autónoma de Querétaro, Querétaro, 76010, México
Keywords:
Candida genus, quercetin, biogenic silver nanoparticles, antifungal activity, stressors, synergistic effects, stress on fungal cells.
Abstract:
Background: The need to combat and reduce the incidence, virulence, and drug resistance
of species belonging to Candida genus, has led to the development of new strategies.
Nanotechnology, through the implementation of nanomaterials, has emerged as an infallible tool
to treat various diseases caused by pathogens, where its mechanisms of action prevent the development
of undesirable pharmacological resistance.
Objective: The antifungal activity and adjuvant properties of biogenic silver nanoparticles in different
Candida species (C. parapsilosis, C. glabrata, and C. albicans) are evaluated.
Methods: The biogenic metallic nanoparticles were developed by quercetin-mediated biological
synthesis. The physicochemical properties were studied by light scattering, electrophoretic mobility,
UV-vis and infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The elucidation of
mechanisms of antifungal action was carried out under stress conditions in Candida species at the
cell wall and response to oxidative stress.
Results: Small silver nanoparticles (≈ 16.18 nm) with irregular morphology, and negative surface
electrical charge (≈ -48.99 mV), were obtained through quercetin-mediated biosynthesis. Infrared
spectra showed that the surface of silver nanoparticles is functionalized with the quercetin molecule.
The antifungal activity of biogenic nanoparticles had efficacy in the following trend C. glabrata
≥ C. parapsilosis > C. albicans. Biogenic nanoparticles and stressors showed synergistic
and potentiated antifungal effects through cell damage, osmotic stress, cell wall damage, and oxidative
stress.
Conclusions: Silver nanoparticles synthesized by quercetin-mediated biosynthesis could be implemented
as a powerful adjuvant agent to enhance the inhibition effects of diverse compounds
over different Candida species.
