Variability of pathogenicity factors representative of the human microbiome under the influence of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Abstract

Biomedical applications of nanoparticles require deep understanding of their interaction with normal human microflora. Previously, the toxic and mutagenic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles as well as their effect on the growth and morphology of the microflora were extensively investigated. However, the studies related to the variability of microbial pathogenicity factors induced by iron oxide nanoparticles are very limited. Meanwhile, this characteristic of microbes is genetically determined and is important for their survival and distribution in the human body. Therefore, pathogenicity factors are significant indicators of the experimental studies. In this work, the effect of the presence of Fe2O3 nanoparticles obtained by laser target evaporation (LTE) on selected enzymes that demonstrate invasion and aggression factors was evaluated for three reference strains of Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. It was found that the presence of LTE Fe2O3 nanoparticles supplied in the form of water-based suspensions does not induce changes of the above-mentioned parameters.

Keywords

• laser target evaporation
• iron oxide nanoparticles
• magnetic nanoparticles
• biomedical applications
• eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms
• normal human microflora
• pathogenicity factors