SummaryIncrease in invasive fungal infections over the past few years especially in immunocompromised patients prompted the search for new antifungal agents with improved efficacy. Current antifungal armoury includes very few effective drugs like Amphotericin B; new generation azoles, including voriconazole and posaconazole; echinocandins like caspofungin and micafungin to name a few. Azole class of antifungals which target the fungal cell membrane are the first choice of treatment for many years because of their effectiveness. As the fungal cell membrane is predominantly made up of sterols, glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids, the role of lipids in pathogenesis and target identification for improved therapeutics were largely pursued by researchers during the last few years. Present review focuses on cell membrane as an antifungal target with emphasis on membrane biogenesis, structure and function of cell membrane, cell membrane inhibitors, screening assays, recent advances and future prospects.

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Development of an ecofriendly, reliable, and rapid process for synthesis of nanoparticles using biological system is an important bulge in nanotechnology. Antioxidant potential and medicinal value of Adiantum philippense L. fascinated us to utilize it for biosynthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles (AuNPs and AgNPs). The current paper reports utility of aqueous extract of A. philippense L. fronds for the green synthesis of AuNPs and AgNPs. Effect of various parameters on synthesis of nanoparticles was monitored by UV-Vis spectrometry. Optimum conditions for AuNPs synthesis were 1 : 1 proportion of original extract at pH 11 and 5 mM tetrachloroauric acid, whereas optimum conditions for AgNPs synthesis were 1 : 1 proportion of original extract at pH 12 and 9 mM silver nitrate. Characterization of nanoparticles was done by TEM, SAED, XRD, EDS, FTIR, and DLS analyses. The results revealed that AuNPs and AgNPs were anisotropic. Monocrystalline AuNPs and polycrystalline AgNPs measured 10 to 18 nm in size. EDS and XRD analyses confirmed the presence of elemental gold and silver. FTIR analysis revealed a possible binding of extract to AuNPs through –NH2 group and to AgNPs through C=C group. These nanoparticles stabilized by a biological capping agent could further be utilized for biomedical applications.

Inhibition of Y-H transition of B. poitrasii and C. albicans by PC indicates that it may prove useful in the control of dimorphic human pathogens.

Known morpholine class antifungals (fenpropimorph, fenpropidin, and amorolfine) were synthetically modified through silicon incorporation to have 15 sila-analogues. Twelve sila-analogues exhibited potent antifungal activity against different human fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus niger. Sila-analogue 24 (fenpropimorph analogue) was the best in our hands, which showed superior fungicidal potential than fenpropidin, fenpropimorph, and amorolfine. The mode of action of sila-analogues was similar to morpholines, i.e., inhibition of sterol reductase and sterol isomerase enzymes of ergosterol synthesis pathway.