Avaliação da atividade tripanossomicida de nanopartículas de prata e o polissacarídeo xilana contra formas epimastigotas de Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The current treatment comprises the use of at least two drugs, benzonidazole (BNZ) and nifurtimox, which present high toxicity and inefficiency in the chronic phase of the disease, which induces the search for more effective therapeutic alternatives. Studies have shown that the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles with polysaccharides has potentiated the biological activity of both polysaccharides and silver. Therefore, the xylan polysaccharide was extracted from corn cob using an environmentally friendly method and was used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (NX). NX-verified atomic force microscopy studies showing spherical shape and mean size (~ 40 nm). Infrared and Raman spectroscopy and coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry confirmed the presence of silver (~ 19%) and xylan in the NX. T. cruzi parasites lost 95% of their ability to reduce MTT (3-bromide (4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium) when incubated with nano xylan (100 µg/mL). Flow cytometric analysis showed that 98% of the parasites were positive for propidium iodide when incubated for 24 h with NX (100 µg/mL). The data show that nano xylan induces parasite necrosis and is a strong candidate for preclinical studies with animals infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.