Acanthamoeba keratitis is a sight-endangering eye infection, and causative organism Acanthamoeba presents a significant concern to public health, given escalation of contact lens wearers. Contemporary therapy is burdensome, necessitating prompt diagnosis and aggressive treatment. None of the contact lens disinfectants (local and international) can eradicate Acanthamoeba effectively. Using a range of compounds targeting cellulose, ion channels, and biochemical pathways, we employed bioassay-guided testing to determine their anti-amoebic effects. The results indicated that acarbose, indaziflam, terbuthylazine, glimepiride, inositol, vildagliptin and repaglinide showed anti-amoebic effects. Compounds showed minimal toxicity on human cells. Therefore, effects of the evaluated compounds after conjugation with nanoparticles should certainly be the subject of future studies and will likely lead to promising leads for potential applications.

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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抗棘阿米巴方法的发展

棘阿米巴角膜炎是一种危及视力的眼部感染，鉴于隐形眼镜佩戴者的增多，棘阿米巴的致病生物对公众健康提出了重大关切。现代疗法是繁重的，需要及时诊断和积极治疗。没有一种隐形眼镜消毒剂（本地和国际）可以根除棘阿米巴有效地。我们使用一系列针对纤维素、离子通道和生化途径的化合物，采用生物测定指导测试来确定它们的抗阿米巴作用。结果表明，阿卡波糖、吲哒嗪、特丁津、格列美脲、肌醇、维格列汀和瑞格列奈均显示出抗阿米巴作用。化合物对人体细胞的毒性很小。因此，评估的化合物与纳米粒子缀合后的效果肯定应该是未来研究的主题，并且可能会为潜在应用带来有希望的线索。

图形概要