Abstract
The potentiality of employing nanotechnology to overcome pathogenic yeast infections was investigated. Chitosan was achieved from grown mycelial biomass of Aspergillus niger, characterized and transformed to its nano-form to have fungal chitosan nanoparticles (NCT), which was further conjugated with ZnO nanoparticles (Zn-NPs) and these individual compounds were loaded onto cotton textiles and evaluated as anticandidal agents against Candida albicans and C. parapsilosis. Fungal chitosan had a deacetylation degree of 89.1 % and a 90.18 KDa molecular weight. The FTIR analysis of composited Zn/NCT indicated strong cross linkage between their particles. The Zn/NCT NPs had a mean particles size of 136 nm with hemispherical figure and well distribution of NPs. Both Zn-NPs, NCT and Zn/NCT nanocomposites exhibited potent anticandidal efficacy against pathogenic yeast strains, either in emulsion form or after loading onto cotton fabrics. The scanning micrographs of exposed Candida strains to Zn/NCT nanocomposites indicated complete lyses of yeast cells after 12 h of exposure. The synthesis of fungal NCT and its combination with Zn-NPs and loading them onto textiles is extremely recommended for generating bioactive anticandidal textiles