Self-assembled amphotericin B-loaded polyglutamic acid nanoparticles: preparation, characterization and in vitro potential against Candida albicans

Qamar Zia,1 Aijaz Ahmed Khan,2 Zubair Swaleha,3 Mohammad Owais1 1Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, 2Department of Anatomy, 3Women’s College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India Abstract: In the present study, we developed a self-assembled biodegradable polyglutamic acid (PGA)-based formulation of amphotericin B (AmB) and evaluated its in vitro antifungal potential against Candida albicans. The AmB-loaded PGA nanoparticles were prepared in-house and had a mean size dimension of around 98±2 nm with a zeta potential of -35.2±7.3 mV. Spectroscopic studies revealed that the drug predominantly acquires an aggregated form inside the formulation with an aggregation ratio above 2. The PGA-based AmB formulation was shown to be highly stable in phosphate-buffered saline as well as in serum (only 10%–20% of the drug was released after 10 days). The AmB-PGA nanoparticles were less toxic to red blood cells (