Cancer cells use nutrients like D-glucose (Glc) and L-glutamine (Q) more efficiently for their development. This increased nutritional dependency of malignant cells has been commonly employed in various in vitro...
In the current study, we utilized application of nanotechnological advancements to synthesize positively charged curcumin nanoparticles (CurNPs). In CurNPs, curcumin (Cur) was encapsulated by a stabilizer, polymer poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) and its surface charge was modified by cationic surfactant cethyltrimetylammonium bromide (CTAB). Characterization methods involving UV‐visible spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were employed to confirm their synthesis. Then, we used CurNPs to investigate their potential as fungicidal agents in vitro and the underlying mechanisms, as compared to free Cur in the two fungal strains SR1 and BP1120 of a destructive plant pathogen Pythium ultimum var. ultimum. The fungicidal activity of CurNPs were studied by several methods which resulted in comparatively more pronounced antifungal activity in BP1120 than SR1. Broth dilution and well diffusion assay revealed minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC80) for CurNPs to be 52.57 μg/mL and 44.67 μg/mL and an increase in zone of inhibition (ZOI) by 5.4 and 6.3 fold of Cur at 15 μg/mL of CurNPs in SR1 and BP1120, respectively. Study of growth curve showed prolonged lag phase, delayed and short log phase, early and prolonged stationary phase and early decline phase after CurNPs exposure. Toxicity of CurNPs in SR1 and BP1120 strains of P. ultimum was attributed to the enhancement in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and fall in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) as revealed by spectrofluorometric assay. Taken together, these CurNPs were confirmed as a novel and very potent fungicidal agents against P. ultimum var. ultimum with a great promise of controlling and treating other microbial infections.
Considerable attention has been given to Magnesium oxide nanoparticles lately due to their antimicrobial potential, low toxicity to humans, high thermal stability, biocompatibility, and low cost of production. However, their successful transformation into sustainable drugs is limited due to their low membrane permeability, which reduces their bioavailability in target cells. Herein we propose Cerium-doped magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgOCeNPs) as a powerful solution to above mentioned limitations and are compared with MgO NPs for their membrane permeability and antimicrobial activity. Both pure and Ce-doped were characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, in which an X-ray diffraction (XRD) examination reveals the lattice patterns for doped nanoparticles. Furthermore, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) revealed the three-dimensional (3D) structure and height of the nanoparticle. The crystal structure (FCC) of MgO did not change with Ce doping. However, microstructural properties like lattice parameter, crystallite size and biological activity of MgO significantly changed with Ce doping. In order to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of MgOCeNPs in comparison to MgO NPs and to understand the underlying mechanisms, the antibacterial activity was investigated against human pathogenic bacteria E. coli and P. aeruginosa, and antifungal activity against THY-1, a fungal strain. MgOCeNPs were studied by several methods, which resulted in a strong antibacterial and antifungal activity in the form of an elevated zone of inhibition, reduced growth curve, lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC80) and enhanced cytotoxicity in both bacterial and fungal strain as compared to MgO nanoparticles. The study of the growth curve showed early and prolonged stationary phase and early decline log phase. Both bacterial and fungal strains showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity with enhancement in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and formation of pores in the membrane when interacting with egg-phosphatidylcholine model Large Unilamellar Vesicles (LUVs). The proposed mechanism of MgOCeNPs toxicity evidently is membranolytic activity and induction of ROS production, which may cause oxidative stress-mediated cytotoxicity. These results confirmed that MgOCeNPs are a novel and very potent antimicrobial agent with a great promise of controlling and treating other microbes.
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