Antifungal activity of oligochitosans (short chain chitosans) against some Candida species and clinical isolates of Candida albicans: Molecular weight–activity relationship

A series of oligochitosans (short chain chitosans) prepared by acidic hydrolysis of chitosan and characterized by their molecular weight, polydispersity and degree of deacetylation were used to determine their anticandidal activities. This study has demonstrated that oligochitosans show a high fungi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of medicinal chemistry 2014-03, Vol.74, p.169-178
Main Authors: Kulikov, Sergey N., Lisovskaya, Svetlana A., Zelenikhin, Pavel V., Bezrodnykh, Evgeniya A., Shakirova, Diana R., Blagodatskikh, Inesa V., Tikhonov, Vladimir E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity
Antifungal Agents - pharmacology
Candida
Candida - classification
Candida - drug effects
Chitosan
Chitosan - pharmacology
Cytometry
Hyphae
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Molecular Weight
Oligochitosan
Species Specificity
Structure-Activity Relationship
TEM
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:A series of oligochitosans (short chain chitosans) prepared by acidic hydrolysis of chitosan and characterized by their molecular weight, polydispersity and degree of deacetylation were used to determine their anticandidal activities. This study has demonstrated that oligochitosans show a high fungistatic activity (MIC 8–512 μg/ml) against Candida species and clinical isolates of Candida albicans, which are resistant to a series of classic antibiotics. Flow cytometry analysis showed that oligochitosan possessed a high fungicidal activity as well. For the first time it was shown that even sub-MIC oligochitosan concentration suppressed the formation of C. albicans hyphal structures, cause severe cell wall alterations, and altered internal cell structure. These results indicate that oligochitosan should be considered as a possible alternative/additive to known anti-yeast agents in pharmaceutical compositions. [Display omitted] •A series of well-characterized oligochitosan samples are prepared.•Oligochitosan shows a high antifungal activity against Candida species.•Oligochitosan suppresses the formation of Candida albicans hyphae structures.•Oligochitosan is highly active against clinical isolates of C. albicans resistant to classic fungicides.•Oligochitosan disrupts and penetrates through C. albicans cell wall and plasma membrane.
ISSN:0223-5234
1768-3254
DOI:10.1016/j.ejmech.2013.12.017