In vitro evaluation of the effectiveness of new water-stable cationic carbosilane dendrimers against Acanthamoeba castellanii UAH-T17c3 trophozoites

Acanthamoeba is one of the most common free-living amoebas which is widespread in the environment and can infect humans, causing diseases such as keratitis and encephalitis. In this paper we examine for the first time the amebicidal activity of the family of cationic dendrimers n G-[Si{(CH 2 ) 3 N +...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology research (1987) 2013-03, Vol.112 (3), p.961-969
Main Authors: Heredero-Bermejo, I., Copa-Patiño, J. L., Soliveri, J., García-Gallego, S., Rasines, B., Gómez, R., de la Mata, F. J., Pérez-Serrano, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acanthamoeba castellanii
Acanthamoeba castellanii - drug effects
Amebicides - isolation & purification
Amebicides - pharmacology
Amoeba
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cell Count
Dendrimers - chemistry
Dendrimers - isolation & purification
Dendrimers - pharmacology
Flow Cytometry
Immunology
Medical Microbiology
Microbiology
Microscopy
Original Paper
Parasitic Sensitivity Tests
Silanes - chemistry
Silanes - isolation & purification
Silanes - pharmacology
Trophozoites - drug effects
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Acanthamoeba is one of the most common free-living amoebas which is widespread in the environment and can infect humans, causing diseases such as keratitis and encephalitis. In this paper we examine for the first time the amebicidal activity of the family of cationic dendrimers n G-[Si{(CH 2 ) 3 N + (Me)(Et)(CH 2 ) 2 NMe 3 + }2I − ] x (where n denotes the generations: zero ( n  = 0, x  = 1), first ( n  = 1, x  = 4), and second ( n  = 2, x  = 8); for simplicity, they were named as 0G-CNN2, 1G-CNN8, and 2G-CNN16, respectively) against Acanthamoeba castellanii UAH-T17c3 trophozoites. In order to test the amebicidal activity, we cultured the strain A. castellanii UAH-T17c3 in PYG-Bactocasitone medium and later, we treated it with different concentrations of these dendrimers and monitored the effects and damage by optical count, flow cytometry, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that all the nanosystems assayed had a strong amebicidal activity. The dendrimer 1G-CNN8 was the most effective against the amoeba. In the morphology of treated throphozoites of A. castellanii UAH-T17c3 analyzed by light and scanning electron microscopy techniques, morphological changes were evident in amoeba cells, such as loss of pseudopodia, ectoplasm increase, roundness, and cellular lysis. Furthermore, flow cytometry results showed alterations in cell granularity, which was dose–time dependent. In conclusion, this family of cationic carbosilane dendrimers has a strong amebicidal activity against the trophozoites of A. castellanii UAH-T17c3 in vitro. They could potentially become new agents significant to the development of new amebicidal compounds for prevention and therapy of Acanthamoeba infections.
ISSN:0932-0113
1432-1955
DOI:10.1007/s00436-012-3216-z