ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF SiO2/CELLULOSE HYBRID MATERIALS DOPED WITH SILVER NANOPARTICLES AGAINST CANDIDA ALBICANS 74

Antifungal effects of two type of silver-doped organic-inorganic hybrid materials against yeast Candida albicans strain 74 were studied. The hybrid materials were obtained by sol-gel method based on the interactions between SiO2 and hydroxypropyl cellulose or SiO2 and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose. Additionally these materials were doped with different silver concentrations from 0.5 to 2.5 wt.% Ag. The antifungal activity of these hybrid materials was studied by application of two microbiological methods. The first method was based on the ability of obtained materials to form clear zone of growth of C. albicans 74, and the second one consists in reduction of the cells number after treatment with silver-doped polymeric hybrids. It was demonstrated that hybrids containing hydroxypropyl cellulose doped with the highest silver concentration of 2.5 wt.% had the highest antifungal effect towards the yeast in comparison with the other materials. The results show as much as 88% decrease of cell growth while the other hybrid matrices were less effective in growth inhibition (up to 62.5%). The cell reduction method seems to be more efficient for evaluation of the antifungal properties of investigated hybrid materials.