Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Chemistry, School of Technology, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar 382007, Gujarat, India
  • 3 Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates
  • 4 Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, University City, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
ACS Chem Neurosci, 2021 Oct 06;12(19):3579-3587.
PMID: 34545742 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00179

Abstract

Free-living amoebae include Acanthamoeba castellanii and Naegleria fowleri that are opportunistic protozoa responsible for life-threatening central nervous system infections with mortality rates over 90%. The rising number of cases and high mortality rates are indicative of the critical unmet need for the development of efficient drugs in order to avert future deaths. In this study, we assess the anti-amoebic capacity of a conducting polymer nanocomposite comprising polyaniline (PANI) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) against A. castellanii and N. fowleri. We observed significant amoebicidal and cysticidal effects using 100 μg/mL PANI/hBN (P < 0.05). Further, the nanocomposite demonstrated negligible cytotoxicity toward HaCaT and primary human corneal epithelial cells (pHCECs). In evaluating the mode of inhibition of A. castellanii due to treatment with PANI/hBN, increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured and scanning microscopy visualized the formation of pores in the amoebae. Overall, this study is suggestive of the potential of the PANI/hBN nanocomposite as a promising therapy for amoeba infections.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.