Metronidazole conjugated magnetic nanoparticles loaded with amphotericin B exhibited potent effects against pathogenic Acanthamoeba castellanii belonging to the T4 genotype

Abstract

Acanthamoeba castellanii can cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and Acanthamoeba keratitis. Currently, no single drug has been developed to effectively treat infections caused by Acanthamoeba . Recent studies have shown that drugs conjugated with nanoparticles exhibit potent in vitro antiamoebic activity against pathogenic free-living amoebae. In this study, we have developed a nano drug delivery system based on iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated with metronidazole which were further loaded with amphotericin B to produce enhanced antiamoebic effects against Acanthamoeba castellanii . The results showed that metronidazole-nanoparticles-amphotericin B (Met-MNPs-Amp) significantly inhibited the viability of these amoebae as compared to the respective controls including drugs and nanoparticles alone. Met-MNPs-Amp exhibited IC 50 at 50 μg/mL against both A. castellanii trophozoites and cysts. Furthermore, these nanoparticles did not affect the viability of rat and human cells and showed safe hemolytic activity. Hence, the results obtained in this study have potential utility in drug development against infections caused by Acanthamoeba castellanii . A combination of drugs can lead to successful prognosis against these largely neglected infections. Future studies will determine the value of conjugating molecules with diagnostic and therapeutic potential to provide theranostic approaches against these serious infections.

Polyaniline-Conjugated Boron Nitride Nanoparticles Exhibiting Potent Effects against Pathogenic Brain-Eating Amoebae

“…Following enumeration, 2.5 × 10 5 cysts were incubated with 100 μg/mL PANI/hBN at three ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 1:5) and the respective compound controls in 200 μL RPMI-1640 at 30 °C for 24 h. Viable cysts were counted using a hemocytometer in Trypan Blue exclusion assays (0.1%) as mentioned above. 54,55 Intracellular ROS Generation Assays. The intracellular generation of ROS by A. castellanii was measured using the DCFDA reagent (Sigma-Aldrich; 35845).…”

“…fowleri were resuspended in RPMI-1640 and counted using a hemocytometer. Following enumeration, 2.5 × 10 5 cysts were incubated with 100 μg/mL PANI/hBN at three ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 1:5) and the respective compound controls in 200 μL RPMI-1640 at 30 °C for 24 h. Viable cysts were counted using a hemocytometer in Trypan Blue exclusion assays (0.1%) as mentioned above. , …”

Applications of Polyaniline-Based Molybdenum Disulfide Nanoparticles against Brain-Eating Amoebae

“…2.5 × 10 5 cysts were treated with 100 μg/mL of PANI/MoS 2 at three ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 1:5), PANI alone, MoS 2 alone, as well as negative and positive controls in RPMI-1640 for 24 h at 30 °C. Subsequent to the incubation time, 0.1% trypan blue was used to differentiate unstained live cysts for counting using a hemocytometer …”

“…Subsequent to the incubation time, 0.1% trypan blue was used to differentiate unstained live cysts for counting using a hemocytometer. 47 LDH Cytotoxicity Assays. The host cell cytotoxic effects of PANI/MoS 2 were evaluated in LDH cytotoxicity assays.…”

Harnessing the Intriguing Properties of Magnetic Nanoparticles to Detect and Treat Bacterial Infections

“…In the past few decades, MNPs have been considered as highly promising supporting materials and have been utilized in the bacterial detection and antibacterial therapies fields. Their wide application is mainly from their unique physical properties, including magnetic properties [23][24][25], structural properties [26], and the feature of easy modification [27].…”