Antifungal activity of arginine based-surfactants against Yeasts

PATRICIA GRILLO; GRACIELA GARROTE; SUSANA R. MORCELLE; M. ELISA FAIT; JULIANA COTABARREN; ROMINA F. VAZQUEZ; LAURA S. BAKÁS; S. MYLEK; EDUARDO PRIETO; SABINA M. MATÉ

La Plata

Congreso; XLVII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica (SAB); 2018

Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica (SAB)

Theantifungal activity of two novel arginine-based compounds (Bz-Arg-NHC10 and Bz-Arg-NHC12),which were synthesized by an enzymatic strategy, was studied against differentCandida species, using two clinical isolates (C. albicans and C. tropicalis)and the strain Candida albicans ATCC 64548 from the American Type CultureCollection (ATCC, Manassas, USA) as indicator microorganisms. Cetrimide (alkyltrimethyl ammonium bromide mixture), a commercial cationic disinfectant wasused for comparison. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) were calculatedfrom DO measurements after 24 h of exposure to the compounds. Results werecorroborated using the resazurin assay. Minimum Fungicidal Concentrations werealso obtained. The three surfactants proved antifungal activity against allisolates, revealing their potential use as effective disinfectants. The effectof surfactants on pathogens survival was analyzed in Sabouraud Dextrose Brothadded with Bz-Arg- NHC10 or Bz-Arg-NHC 12 at different concentrations.Viability curves showed a decrease of the number of viable microorganism after24 h of incubation when compared to that of the control in absence of thesurfactant. Experiments in lipid monolayers composed by dioleoylphosphatidylcholine(PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and ergosterol (ERG) confirmed that bothsurfactants can insert in the fungal membranes, suggesting it as a possibletarget for the antifungal activity. Morphological changes in yeasts exposed tothe surfactants were analyzed by AFM. Finally, antiadhesive activity wasstudied pretreating polyestyrene microplates with different surfactant concentrations.Overall, the evidence from this preliminary study supports the use of thesearginine-based surfactants as an alternative to commercial cationic surfactants,especially for their use as additives in topical formulations and for superficialdisinfection.