Abstract
The present study, demonstrates the synthesis of spinel cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles (NPs), substituted with various concentrations of unique earth element neodymium (Nd3+) and Cerium (Ce3+), by sonochemical technique. Further examination for the influence of Nd3+ and Ce3+ on structure, surface morphology and anticandidal activities, using different techniques X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were studied. The nanocrystalline size ranging from 11 to 16 nm with spherical shaped particles were obtained. The anticandidal effect of Nd3+ and Ce3+ doped cobalt ferrite NPs were studied against Candida albicans by evaluating the CFU (colony forming unit) and morphogenesis by SEM. The treatment with Nd3+ and Ce3+ doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles, showed profound activity with the increasing ratio of Nd3+ and Ce3+ and in an incubation duration manner. The lowest survivability i. e. 40 and 30%, and maximum morphogenesis was obtained with x=0.15 and x=0.2, respectively. The findings lead to the conclusion, that the synthesized NPs have potential as therapeutic strategy targeting Candida infection, and other biomedical applications.