Synthesis of chitosan/Fe2O3/CuO-nanocomposite and their role as inhibitor for some biological disorders in vitro with molecular docking interactions studies

The hybrid material between the functional elements particularly with the polymer compounds as a nanocomposites are attractive in numerous fields. In the current work, chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite has been successfully synthesized in situ via a coprecipitation method and characterized by several apparatuses. The X-ray diffraction cleared that chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite was crystalline. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) showed that the size of chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite was of 17-85 nm. Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Geotrichum candidum were inhibited employing the chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite with inhibition areas of 25 ± 0.1 and 30 ± 0.1, and 23 ± 0.2 mm, respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite was 15.62, 31.25, and 62.5 μg/mL for C. tropicalis, C. albicans, and G. candidum, respectively. Biofilm formation of C. albicans, C. tropicalis and G. candidum was inhibited at level of 95.31, 96.65, and 93.63 %, respectively at 75 % MIC of chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite. The exposed C. tropicalis to chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite showed severe damag of cytoplasm membrane with cell wall rupture. Chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite reflected anticancer potential against human skin cancer (A-431) cells with IC₅₀ of 77.79 ± 1.37 μg/mL. Moreover, wound heals was induced by chitosan/Fe₂O₃/CuO-nanocomposite with closure level 92.76 %. Molecular docking studies suggested strong binding of C. tropicalis (PDB ID: 8BH8) and A-431 (PDB ID: 5JJX) proteins with CuO nanoparticles and FeO nanoparticles.