Silver Nanoparticle-Embedded Carbon Nitride: Antifungal Activity on Candida albicans and Toxicity toward Animal Cells

Ganeshkumar Arumugam, Sivaraj Durairaj, Juliana Caparroz Gonçale, Paulo Henrique Fonseca do Carmo, Maíra Terra Garcia, Newton Soares da Silva, Bruno Montanari Borges, Flavio Vieira Loures, Deepa Ghosh, Juan F. Vivanco, Juliana Campos Junqueira

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The development of engineered nanomaterials has been considered a promising strategy to control oral infections. In this study, silver-embedded carbon nitrides (Ag@g-CN) were synthesized and tested against Candida albicans, investigating their antifungal action and biocompatibility in animal cells. Ag@g-CN was synthesized by a simple one-pot thermal polymerization technique and characterized by various analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed slight alterations in the crystal structure of g-CN upon the incorporation of Ag. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Ag-N bonds, indicating successful silver incorporation and potential interactions with g-CN’s amino groups. UV-vis spectroscopy demonstrated a red shift in the absorption edge of Ag@g-CN compared with g-CN, attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect of silver nanoparticles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the 2D layered sheet like morphology of both materials. The Ag 3d peaks found in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the presence of metallic Ag0 nanoparticles in Ag@g-CN. The Ag@g-CN materials exhibited high antifungal activity against reference and oral clinical strains of C. albicans, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranges between 16-256 μg/mL. The mechanism of Ag@g-CN on C. albicans was attributed to the disruption of the membrane integrity and disturbance of the biofilm. In addition, the Ag@g-CN material showed good biocompatibility in the fibroblastic cell line and in Galleria mellonella, with no apparent cytotoxicity observed at a concentration up to 1000 μg/mL. These findings demonstrate the potential of the Ag@g-CN material as an effective and safe antifungal agent for the treatment of oral fungal infections.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25727-25739
Number of pages13
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume16
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - 22 May 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • 2D material
  • C. albicans
  • antifungal properties
  • biocompatibility
  • carbon nitrides
  • one-pot thermal polymerization

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