title: Efficacy of ferulic acid encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles against Candida albicans biofilm.
abstract: Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen is a major causative agent of superficial to systemic life-threating biofilm infections on indwelling medical devices. These biofilms acts as double edge swords owing to their resistance towards antibiotics and immunological barriers. To overcome this threat ferulic acid encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles (FA-CSNPs) were formulated to assess its efficacy as an antibiofilm agent against C. albicans. These FA-CSNPs were synthesized using ionotropic gelation method and observed through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and fluorescent microscopy. Assessment of successful encapsulation and stability of ferulic acid into chitosan nanoparticles was made using Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), (1)H NMR and thermal analyses. Synthesized FA-CSNPs, were found to be cytocompatible, when tested using Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK-293) cell lines. XTT assay revealed that FA-CSNPs reduced the cell metabolic activity of C. albicans upto 22.5% as compared to native ferulic acid (63%) and unloaded CSNPs (88%) after 24 h incubation. Disruption of C. albicans biofilm architecture was visualized by FESEM. Results highlighted the potential of FA-CSNPs to be used as an effective alternative to the conventional antifungal therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT R), Roorkee 247667, India. Electronic address: panwarricha343@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Richa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Panwar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT R), Roorkee 247667, India. Electronic address: chaitanyasuma.p@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Suma C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pemmaraju
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT R), Roorkee 247667, India. Electronic address: asvenesharma@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Asvene K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT R), Roorkee 247667, India. Electronic address: vikasfbs@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vikas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pruthi
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D048271:Chitosan / Q000378:metabolism*; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000378:metabolism*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005562:Formazans / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D004337:Drug Carriers; D005562:Formazans; C059088:1,5-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-3-((phenylamino)carbonyl)formazan; D048271:Chitosan; C004999:ferulic acid
keywords: Antibiofilm activity; Chitosan nanoparticles; Cytocompatibility; FESEM; Ferulic acid