Au–Ag–Cu nanoparticles alloys showed antifangal activity against the antibiotics-resistant Candida albicans

Abstract

Formation of Au–Ag–Cu ternary alloy nanoparticles (NPs) is of particular interest because its trimetallic process that includes miscible (Au–Ag and Au–Cu) and immiscible (Ag–Cu) system. So there is a possibility of phase segregation in this ternary system. At this challenge, it was an attempt to use the synthetic technique to generate such trimetallic alloy nanoparticles by exploding wire technique. This work aims to develop an effective antifungal treatment against the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans using Au–Ag–Cu nanoparticles alloys. In this work, three metals alloys (A, B, and C) containing Au–Ag–Cu nanoparticles were prepared as a physical methods by exploding wire with different ratio of each elements (A: 50% Au 25% Ag 25% Cu; B: 25% Au 50% Ag 25% Cu; C: 15% Au 60% Ag 25% Cu). The antifungal activity of the alloy nanoparticles was tested against pathogen fungi, Candida albicans grown on a solid medium using disk diffusion method. The highest antifungal activity against Candida albicans was observed on alloy B that was prepared by 160 A and concentrations 12.5 μg.ml-1. The treatment with this alloy showed more than 85% inactivation of the fungus growth.