An in vitro study of the antifungal efficacy of zinc oxide nanoparticles against Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Eng Pei Tan, Sinouvassane Djearamane, Ling Shing Wong, Ranjithkumar Rajamani, Anto Cordelia Tanislaus Antony, Suresh Kumar Subbaih, Ashok Kumar Janakiraman, Mohammod Aminuzzaman, Vetriselvan Subramaniyan, Mahendran Sekar, Siddharthan Selvaraj

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9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are widely used in biomedical applications due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. The objective of the present study was to determine the antifungal activity of ZnO NPs against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The turbidity test results showed a significant (p < 0.05) dose-dependent growth inhibitory effect of ZnO NPs on S. cerevisiae as the growth inhibition increased from 7.04 ± 0.64 to 70.30 ± 3.19% as the concentration of ZnO NPs increased from 5 to 150 μg/mL. The scanning microscopy images evidenced the morphological alterations such as regional invagination, pitting, cracks, wrinkles, and cell wall rupture in the yeast cells treated with ZnO NPs. In addition, the FTIR spectrum revealed the possible involvement of hydroxyl, alkene, amides, carbonyl, and phosphate groups from polysaccharides, polypeptides, phospholipids, and ergosterol of the yeast cells wall for binding of ZnO NPs on the cell surface. The present study has demonstrated the antifungal activity of ZnO NPs on S. cerevisiae through growth inhibition and the morphological damages resulting from the treatment of ZnO NPs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1988
Number of pages12
JournalCoatings
Volume12
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • FTIR
  • growth inhibition
  • morphological alterations
  • scanning electron microscopy
  • yeast cells

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