Enhancing the Antifungal Effect of Biosynthesized Selenium Nanoparticles Using Aspergillus Fumigatus

Green synthesis as a new method of synthesis of nanoparticles with a simple, biocompatible, safe, and economical approach can be an alternative to chemical and physical processes. Fungi can convert some toxic ions into less harmful forms, including nanoparticles. Nanoparticles with a size of 1 to 100 nanometers have unique quantum properties. Today, the problems of drug resistance have been seen in different species of fungi. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are substances that have been reported to have antifungal properties. The present study aimed to investigate the antifungal effect of biosynthesized SeNPs using Aspergillus fumigatus.

For this purpose, SeNPs were biosynthesized with a specific concentration using A. fumigatus. The presence of nanoparticles was confirmed by various methods, including UV-Vis, FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, DLS, and Zeta potential. Then, susceptibility determination based on the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) testwas performed on standard fungal strains treated with SeNPs.

After confirming the results of nanoparticle biosynthesis, the MICs for Itraconazole and Amphotericin B against the standard fungal strains were 8 and 4 μg/mL respectively. In comparison, MIC values for SeNPs-treated samples were reduced to 1 μg/mL and below.

Due to the increasing resistance of opportunistic fungi to target antifungal drugs, the use of biosafety SeNPs even at low concentrations can have favorable inhibitory effects on the growth of fungal pathogens