Mesoporous silica nanoparticles incorporated with zinc oxide as a novel antifungal agent against toxigenic fungi strains

Abstract

Developing environmentally friendly alternative strategies to reduce the damage caused by fungi in agriculture has been widely investigated. In this study, we evaluated using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) incorporated with zinc oxide (MSNs–ZnO) as a potential antifungal agent against Fusarium graminearum and Aspergillus flavus strains, as well as their antimycotoxin properties. The MSNs that synthesized and characterized could release abundant ZnO in the first 24 h. Subsequently, the ZnO release became slower, providing greater durability of the antifungal effect. Significant (P < 0.001) growth reductions in F. graminearum (81%) and A. flavus (65%) compared to the control were obtained at a high concentration of the MSNs–ZnO (1.0 mg mL⁻¹). Moreover, the MSNs–ZnO treatment at a high concentration (1.0 mg mL⁻¹) caused morphology alteration in both fungi, showing ruptures and deformations in the fungal hyphae, affecting their growth and toxin production. A significant reduction (P < 0.001) in the productions of deoxynivalenol (89%) and aflatoxin B₁ (58%) by F. graminearum and A. flavus were also observed. These findings imply that using MSNs as the carriers of zinc compounds, such as ZnO, could be investigated as a safe alternative for effectively controlling toxigenic fungi in agriculture.

Keywords:

• Fusarium graminearum
• Aspergillus flavus
• mycotoxins
• mesoporous materials
• metals

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the MULTILAB-UNESC (Multiuser Laboratory) and Laboratories of the Iparque-Parque Científico e Tecnológico from the Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense (UNESC) for making equipment facility available to us.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [GDS] on request. Raw images of this study are available in [Mendeley Data] at http://doi.org/10.17632/h7ft3337g4.2.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the support of the “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES)” and the “Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina (FAPESC)”.