Abstract
Candida albicans is one of the most popular opportunistic fungi, it is the fourth cause of the nosocomial infections affect different parts of body; vagina. Nanotechnology provides the possibility in designing modern drugs with such greater specificity of cell, although the metal oxides nanoparticles such as; zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO NPs) has safe and useful antimicrobial agents. The research aimed to; investigate the effect of different concentrations of ZnO NPs on; (the morphology of Candida albicanes, ultrastructure of Candida albicans, and molecular monitoring of the different effects of ZnO NPs on different Candida albicans metabolites and enzymes. Comparing with an antifungal drug). Candida albicans Isolate (No.: 10234) obtained, cultured on media Saboroud Dextrose Agar medium. ZnO NPs suspensions with NP size of 70 +/- 15 nm were obtained and by aliquot (10 ml) of ZnO NPs suspension was diluted to make (1%, 3%, 5% & 7%) concentrations. Antifungal tests were performed on plates, then scanned by scanning electron microscopy, then performed protein scanning of the fungus and studied the enzymes activity. Results cleared the ZnO NPs as very effective on Candida albicans than antifungal even at its lowest concentration was 1%. The most powerful effect were detected in case of 7% ZnO NPs and the inhibition effect were relatively correlation with concentration of ZnO NPs by make deformity in cell structures, reduction of protein content and adversely effect on Candida albicans enzymes. The study recommended to perform further research to apply ZnO NPs in treatment of Candida albicans infection.