Martínez-Montelongo Jorge H, Medina-Ramírez Iliana E, Romo-Lozano Yolanda, González-Gutiérrez Antonio, Macías-Díaz Jorge E
Department of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico.
Department of Microbiology, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes 20131, Mexico.
J Fungi (Basel). 2021 Feb 23;7(2):158. doi: 10.3390/jof7020158.
Fungal mycoses have become an important health and environmental concern due to the numerous deleterious side effects on the well-being of plants and humans. Antifungal therapy is limited, expensive, and unspecific (causes toxic effects), thus, more efficient alternatives need to be developed. In this work, Copper (I) Iodide (CuI) nanomaterials (NMs) were synthesized and fully characterized, aiming to develop efficient antifungal agents. The bioactivity of CuI NMs was evaluated using and as model organisms. CuI NMs were prepared as powders and as colloidal suspensions by a two-step reaction: first, the CuI2 controlled precipitation, followed by hydrazine reduction. Biopolymers (Arabic gum and chitosan) were used as surfactants to control the size of the CuI materials and to enhance its antifungal activity. The materials (powders and colloids) were characterized by SEM-EDX and AFM. The materials exhibit a hierarchical 3D shell morphology composed of ordered nanostructures. Excellent antifungal activity is shown by the NMs against pathogenic fungal strains, due to the simultaneous and multiple mechanisms of the composites to combat fungi. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of CuI-AG and CuI-Chitosan are below 50 μg/mL (with 5 h of exposition). Optical and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analyses demonstrate the capability of the materials to disrupt biofilm formation. AFM also demonstrates the ability of the materials to adhere and penetrate fungal cells, followed by their lysis and death. Following the concept of safe by design, the biocompatibility of the materials was tested. The hemolytic activity of the materials was evaluated using red blood cells. Our results indicate that the materials show an excellent antifungal activity at lower doses of hemolytic disruption.
由于真菌病对植物和人类健康产生诸多有害副作用，已成为重要的健康和环境问题。抗真菌治疗存在局限性、费用高昂且缺乏特异性（会产生毒性作用），因此需要开发更有效的替代方法。在本研究中，合成并全面表征了碘化亚铜（CuI）纳米材料（NMs），旨在开发高效抗真菌剂。以[具体真菌名称1]和[具体真菌名称2]作为模式生物评估了CuI纳米材料的生物活性。通过两步反应将CuI纳米材料制备为粉末和胶体悬浮液：首先，进行CuI₂的控制沉淀，然后用肼还原。使用生物聚合物（阿拉伯胶和壳聚糖）作为表面活性剂来控制CuI材料的尺寸并增强其抗真菌活性。通过扫描电子显微镜-能谱仪（SEM-EDX）和原子力显微镜（AFM）对材料（粉末和胶体）进行了表征。这些材料呈现出由有序纳米结构组成的分级三维壳层形态。由于该复合材料对抗真菌具有同时且多种作用机制，纳米材料对致病真菌菌株显示出优异的抗真菌活性。CuI-阿拉伯胶（CuI-AG）和CuI-壳聚糖的最小抑菌浓度（MIC）和最小杀菌浓度（MFC）在50μg/mL以下（暴露5小时）。光学显微镜和原子力显微镜（AFM）分析证明了该材料破坏生物膜形成的能力。AFM还证明了该材料粘附并穿透真菌细胞，随后使其裂解和死亡的能力。遵循设计安全的理念，测试了材料的生物相容性。使用红细胞评估了材料的溶血活性。我们的结果表明，这些材料在较低剂量的溶血破坏下表现出优异的抗真菌活性。
