Green SPIONs as a novel highly selective treatment for leishmaniasis: an in vitro study against Leishmania amazonensis intracellular amastigotes

• Brunno R. F. Verçoza,
• Robson R. Bernardo,
• Luiz Augusto S. de Oliveira and
• Juliany C. F. Rodrigues

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 893–903, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.73

• The main goal of this work was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of green superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) produced with coconut water for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania amazonensis. Optical and electron microscopy techniques were used to evaluate the

• current drugs used to treat the disease. The synthesized SPIONs showed promising activity against Leishmania and can be considered a strong candidate for a new therapeutic approach for treating leishmaniases. Keywords: coconut water; Leishmaniasis; Leishmania amazonensis; nanomedicine; SPIONs

• using coconut water [9]. In this article, the ability of macrophages to uptake these SPIONs was evaluated, together with some physical and chemical characterizations. The synthesized green SPIONs are around 4 nm in diameter, are composed of pure nonstoichiometric magnetite, exhibit superparamagnetic