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A Comparative Study of the Anti-Fungal Activity of Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide Nano and Bulk Particles with Anti-Fungals against Fungi Isolated from Infected Skin and Dandruff Flakes

Abstract

The anti-fungal activity of Zinc oxide and Titanium dioxide nano-particles was assessed by treating eight fungal cultures - Aspergillus niger, Trichophyton, Fonsecaea, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus oryzae, Fusarium, Ramichloridium schulzeri and Cladosporium, isolated from infected skin and dandruff flakes with the nanoparticles and analysing the extent of growth inhibition on agar and in broth media. The anti-fungal activity of these nano-particles was also compared to that of their respective bulk-particular forms, as well as to two commonly used anti-fungals, namely Amphotericin-B and Miconazole. The nano-particles were found to be more effective than the bulk-particles and almost equally efficient as Amphotericin-B, however Miconazole was found to be a better anti-fungal at an equal concentration. Zinc oxide nano-particles were better anti-fungals than Titanium dioxide, thus its anti-fungal activity at different concentrations was assessed to identify the concentration that shows similar anti-fungal activity as 3μg/ml of Miconazole. The reason for performing this study was to investigate the possibility of replacing presently used anti-fungal drugs with nano-particles in topical applications to treat mycosis.

Sara A George, M Shailaja Raj, Diana Solomon and Roselin P

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