Amphotericin B-Silver Hybrid Nanoparticles Help to Unveil the Mechanism of Biological Activity of the Antibiotic: Disintegration of Cell Membranes
Sebastian Janik,
Ewa Grela,
Sylwia Stączek,
Agnieszka Zdybicka-Barabas,
Rafal Luchowski,
Wieslaw I. Gruszecki,
Wojciech Grudzinski
Affiliations
Sebastian Janik
Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Ewa Grela
Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Sylwia Stączek
Department of Immunobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Zdybicka-Barabas
Department of Immunobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Rafal Luchowski
Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Wieslaw I. Gruszecki
Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Wojciech Grudzinski
Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Amphotericin B is a popular antifungal antibiotic, and despite decades of pharmacological application, the exact mode of its biological activity is still a matter of debate. Amphotericin B-silver hybrid nanoparticles (AmB-Ag) have been reported to be an extremely effective form of this antibiotic to combat fungi. Here, we analyze the interaction of AmB-Ag with C. albicans cells with the application of molecular spectroscopy and imaging techniques, including Raman scattering and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy. The results lead to the conclusion that among the main molecular mechanisms responsible for the antifungal activity of AmB is the disintegration of the cell membrane, which occurs on a timescale of minutes.
