Silver Nanoparticles Containing Fucoidan Synthesized by Green Method Have Anti-<i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Activity
Adriana Oliveira Souza,
Johny Wysllas de Freitas Oliveira,
Claudia Jéssica Gonsalves Moreno,
Mayra Jane Campos de Medeiros,
Marília Medeiros Fernandes-Negreiros,
Flavia Roberta Monteiro Souza,
Daniel Lima Pontes,
Marcelo Sousa Silva,
Hugo Alexandre Oliveira Rocha
Affiliations
Adriana Oliveira Souza
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais (BIOPOL), Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Johny Wysllas de Freitas Oliveira
Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59012-570, RN, Brazil
Claudia Jéssica Gonsalves Moreno
Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59012-570, RN, Brazil
Mayra Jane Campos de Medeiros
Laboratório de Química de Coordenação e Polímeros (LQCPol), Departamento de Química, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Marília Medeiros Fernandes-Negreiros
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais (BIOPOL), Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Flavia Roberta Monteiro Souza
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais (BIOPOL), Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Daniel Lima Pontes
Laboratório de Química de Coordenação e Polímeros (LQCPol), Departamento de Química, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Marcelo Sousa Silva
Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59012-570, RN, Brazil
Hugo Alexandre Oliveira Rocha
Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Polímeros Naturais (BIOPOL), Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
The brown seaweed Spatoglossum schröederi synthesizes three bioactive fucoidans, the most abundant of which is fucan A. This fucoidan was extracted and its identity was confirmed by chemical analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and agarose gel electrophoresis. Thereafter, silver nanoparticles containing fucan A (AgFuc) were produced using an environmentally friendly synthesis method. AgFuc synthesis was analyzed via UV–vis spectroscopy and FTIR, which confirmed the presence of both silver and fucan A in the AgFuc product. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy revealed that the AgFuc particles were ~180.0 nm in size and spherical in shape. DLS further demonstrated that AgFuc was stable for five months. Coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry showed that the AgFuc particles contained 5% silver and 95% sugar. AgFuc was shown to be more effective in inhibiting the ability of parasites to reduce MTT than fucan A or silver, regardless of treatment time. In addition, AgFuc induced the death of ~60% of parasites by necrosis and ~17% by apoptosis. Therefore, AgFuc induces damage to the parasites’ mitochondria, which suggests that it is an anti-Trypanosoma cruzi agent. This is the first study to analyze silver nanoparticles containing fucan as an anti-Trypanosoma cruzi agent. Our data indicate that AgFuc nanoparticles have potential therapeutic applications, which should be determined via preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies.
