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Synthesis of Tellurium Oxide (TeO2) Nanorods and Nanoflakes and Evaluation of Its Efficacy Against Leishmania major In Vitro and In Vivo

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Abstract

Purpose

Today, the use of natural products and nanostructures has increased. Given the reports on beneficial effects of various organotellurane compounds on types of visceral leishmaniasis, we decided to investigate the effect of TeO2 NPs on Leishmania major (L. major). Tellurium can cause cell apoptosis in cancer cells without activating the caspase-pathway.

Methods

TeO2 NPs at first synthesized and the structure was checked by XRD, SEM and EDS tests. The cytotoxic effect of TeO2 NPs against L. major promastigotes, amastigotes and macrophages was assessed by MTT test or counting. The possible apoptosis of L. major by TeO2 NPs was evaluated by flow cytometry test. For in vivo assay, the lesions of infected BALB/c mice with L. major promastigotes were treated with TeO2 NPs, then the lesion size and survival rate were evaluated.

Results

The synthesis of TeO2 with tetragonal structure was confirmed by XRD. The combination of nanorods and nanoflakes and the presence of Te were proven by SEM and EDS, respectively. According the effects of nanoparticle on promastigotes and amastigotes, the IC50 values of TeO2 after 72 h of incubation were 15.13 and 52.22 µg/ml, respectively. TeO2 NPs induced apoptosis in about 41% of promastigotes. The ulcer greatly healed and survival rate was higher in treated mice compared to those in control group.

Conclusion

Based on the data, favorable anti-leishmanial properties were observed by using TeO2 NPs. TeO2 NPs have cytotoxic impacts on L. major promastigotes and amastigotes in vitro and in vivo and may be regarded as a therapy option.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to appreciate the financial support of Tarbiat Modares University—Iran. This article was an outcome of an MSc thesis undertaken by Pooya Tavakoli, MSc student in Medical Parasitology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Parasitology and Entomology Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-331, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Pooya Tavakoli, Fatemeh Ghaffarifar, Amir KarimiPourSaryazdi & Mohammad Saaid Dayer

  2. Nanomaterials Group, Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Hamid Delavari & Salimeh Ahmadi

  3. Parasitology Department, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Alborz, Iran

    Vahid Nasiri

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  1. Pooya Tavakoli
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Contributions

PT and FG and HD conceived the study; HD designed and analyzed the synthesis of TeO2 NPs. FG designed the study protocol; FG was supervisor of this research; HD was advisor of the research; PT drafted the manuscript; VN, PT, HD, AK and FG critically revised the manuscript. MS Dayer contributed to the drafting and revision of manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fatemeh Ghaffarifar.

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The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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This research was approved by ethical committee of Tarbiat Modares University with number IRMODARES.REC 1397-177; 5-Jan-2019.

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Tavakoli, P., Ghaffarifar, F., Delavari, H. et al. Synthesis of Tellurium Oxide (TeO2) Nanorods and Nanoflakes and Evaluation of Its Efficacy Against Leishmania major In Vitro and In Vivo. Acta Parasit. 67, 143–152 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00445-w

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