In vitro and in vivo anti-parasitic activity of biogenic antimony sulfide nanoparticles on Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER)

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) 2019-09, Vol.118 (9), p.2669-2678
• Main Authors: Mohtasebi, Sina, Mohebali, Mehdi, Elikaee, Samira, Akhoundi, Behnaz, Foroushani, Abbas Rahimi, Teimouri, Aref, Yarizadeh, Hamed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amastigotes; Animal experimentation; Antimony; Antiparasitic agents; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Efficiency; Experiments; Health aspects; Immunology; Infection; Leishmania major; Medical Microbiology; Meglumine antimoniate; Microbiology; Nanoparticles; Promastigotes; Protozoology - Original Paper; Sulfide; Sulfides
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-019-06382-y

The aims of this study were to produce biogenic antimony sulfide nanoparticles (NPs) using Serratia marcescens ( S. marcescens ) and investigate the potential anti-leishmanial effects of these NPs on Leishmania major ( L. major ) (MRHO/IR/75/ER) in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Biogenic antimony sulfide NPs were synthesized through intracellular biological methods using S. marcescens . The efficiency of various concentrations of antimony sulfide NPs was assessed using in vitro experiments on amastigotes of L. major at various times post-infection. In vivo experiments were carried out in BALB/c mice inoculated subcutaneously with 2 × 10 6 L. major promastigotes (MHROM/IR/75/ER) and treated with antimony sulfide NPs (70 μg/mL, tropically), meglumine antimoniate (glucantime) as positive control and sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) as vehicle control. Results of in vitro experiments revealed that the anti-leishmanial activity increased when the antimony sulfide NPs concentration increased. The IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) of antimony sulfide NPs against amastigotes was calculated as 62.5 μg/mL. In in vivo experiments, the average size of lesions significantly decreased to 8.6 ± 2.7 mm 2 in mice inoculated with L. major promastigotes and treated with antimony sulfide NPs, compared with that in the negative control group ( P  = 0.015). Furthermore, results showed that antimony sulfide NPs significantly decreased the parasite load in the test group, compared with the negative control group ( P  = 0.001). Various concentrations of antimony sulfide NPs showed a great anti-leishmanial efficiency against L. major (MRHO/IR/75/ER), with the greatest efficiency shown by a concentration of 62.5 μg/mL in in vitro and in vivo experiments.