Isoniazid conjugated magnetic nanoparticles loaded with amphotericin B as a potent antiamoebic agent against acanthamoeba castellanii

The pathogenic free-living amoeba, Acanthamoeba castellanii, is responsible for a rare but deadly central nervous system infection, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and a blinding eye disease called Acanthamoeba keratitis. Currently, a combination of biguanides, amidine, azoles and antibiotics are used to manage these infections; however, the host cell cytotoxicity of these drugs remains a challenge. Furthermore, Acanthamoeba species are capable of transforming to the cyst form to resist chemotherapy. Herein, we have developed a nano drug delivery system based on iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated with isoniazid, which were further loaded with amphotericin B (ISO-NPs-AMP) to cause potent antiamoebic effects against Acanthamoeba castellanii. The IC₅₀ of isoniazid conjugated with magnetic nanoparticles and loaded with amphotericin B was found to be 45 µg/mL against Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites and 50 µg/mL against cysts. The results obtained in this study have promising implications in drug discovery as these nanomaterials exhibited high trophicidal and cysticidal effects, as well as limited cytotoxicity against rat and human cells.