Comparison of antifungal activities of zinc, copper, cerium oxide, silver, gold, and selenium nanoparticles against clinical isolates of Aspergillus

Objective(s): Aspergillus species are found as opportunistic agents to cause a wide variety of clinical manifestations. Regarding the drug resistance emergence against Aspergillus species, new aspects of using nanoparticles (NPs) as antifungal agents are considerable. This study takes a new approach to biosynthesized NPs of zinc oxide, copper oxide, cerium oxide, silver, gold, and selenium influence on the clinical isolates of Aspergillus species.Materials and Methods: The antifungal activities of six NPs were examined against a total of ۱۲ clinical isolates of Aspergillus species, including A. flavus (n=۴), A. welwitschiae (n= ۴), and A. fumigatus (n=۴) based on the M۳۸-A۲ guideline.Results: According to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values, NPs of ZnO, Ag, Au, and Se showed a significant antifungal effect. CuO-NPs and CeO۲-NPs didn’t show an inhibitory effect against Aspergillus isolates. The MIC ranges of ZnO-NPs, Ag-NPs, Au-NPs, and Se-NPs were ۱۲۸-۵۱۲, ۲۶-۵۳, ۲۱-۸۵, and ۶-۲۶ µg⁄mL for A. fumigatus; and ۵۱۲->۵۱۲, ۲۶-۵۳, ۸۵, and ۱-۱۳ µg⁄mL for A. welwitschiae, respectively. In addition, the MIC ranges of Ag-NPs and Se-NPs were ۲۶-۵۳ and ۱۰۶-۴۲۵ µg⁄mL for A. flavus, respectively. However, A. flavus were not inhibited by NPs of ZnO and Au.Conclusion: Among the examined NPs, ZnO, Ag, Au, and Se showed a significant effect against Aspergillus isolates except for CuO and CeO۲. However, Ag-NPs seemed to be the most effective nanoparticle against the Aspergillus species. Compared to other Aspergillus species, A. flavus was not inhibited by NPs of ZnO and Au.

کلیدواژه ها:

Antifungal agents ، Aspergillus ، Clinical ، Nanoparticles