Leishmania parasites, transmitted to humans through bites of female sand flies, have developed resistance to most antimony-based drugs. Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock
Chemists have synthesized a new class of metal-based hydrogels that can wipe out Leishmania parasites which cause cutaneous leishmaniasis and trigger sores on exposed parts of the body1.
The hydrogels could potentially be used to design next-generation antileishmanial agents, says a team of researchers at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Kolkata.
Female sand flies transmit Leishmania parasites to humans through bites. In recent years, the parasites have developed resistance to most antimony-based drugs. To overcome this, scientists led by Jyotirmayee Dash allowed cytidine or guanosine monophosphate (GMP), components of RNA molecules, to self-assemble into hydrogels in silver acetate solutions.
The cytidine-based gels were more potent than the GMP-based gels at inhibiting the growth of Leishmania major parasites. Gel treatment damaged the parasites’ membrane, reduced cell volume, fragmented DNA and made the flagella short and thick, leading to death through apoptosis.
The team, which included researchers at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kolkata, found that cytidine-derived C-gel 4 was the most effective and non-toxic parasite killer. It could change from gel to sol and back to gel – a property which can be exploited to convert it into pharmaceutical formulations.
Dash says the team is currently testing its effect on other species of Leishmania parasites, including Leishmania tropica, as well as fungal species that cause skin infections.
