title: Synergic effect of photodynamic therapy with methylene blue and surfactants in the inhibition of Candida albicans.
abstract: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been originally developed for the treatment of cancer, but it has been successfully employed in the treatment of infectious diseases, including fungal infections. Surfactants are amphiphilic compounds that also have antifungal properties. The present work demonstrates the synergic effect of PDT with methylene blue (MB) and LED combined with four different surfactants in the killing of Candida albicans. Subinhibitory concentrations of CTAC, HPS, SDS and Triton X-100 were tested with MB PDT. The combined therapies proved to be more efficient than PDT or surfactants separately. The best results were obtained with CTAC and HPS and PDT with MB at the concentration of 32 μg/mL. In conclusion, the combination of surfactants and PDT is an alternative antifungal treatment that can achieve more effective performance with minimal discomfort to the patient.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de São João Del Rei, São João Del Rei, MG, Brazil. julianalyon@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Juliana Pereira
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lyon
authors.forename: Rafael Reis
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Rezende
authors.forename: Mariana Penido
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Rabelo
authors.forename: Carlos José
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.forename: Leonardo Marmo
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Moreira
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects*; D004357:Drug Synergism; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000187:drug effects; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D008751:Methylene Blue