Enhancement of pharmacotherapeutic activity of antibiotic “Amphotericin B” due to its photosensitizing properties

The problem of increasing the efficacy of fungal infection treatment is a pressing issue in modern medicine due to increasing resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to antifungal drugs. At the same time, the development of new antifungal drugs is a complex, lengthy, and expensive task, since there is a close evolutionary relationship between fungal eukaryotes and human somatic cells. The aim of this work is to enhance the pharmacotherapeutic activity of the widely used antifungal polyene antibiotic "Amphotericin B". As a result of in vitro studies using somatic cells, the ability of Amphotericin B to act as a photosensitizer when exposed to light in the blue spectral region, corresponding to the absorption band of the drug, as well as to sensitize the Type II photochemical reactions (generation of singlet oxygen) and radical processes (Type I reactions) was demonstrated. When modeling contact dermatitis on depilated areas of rat skin, it was found that the combined use of Amphotericin B and radiation from super-bright LEDs with a wavelength of λ_max = 405 nm enhances the fungicidal effect of the drug and also causes a reliable decrease in the characteristic signs of dermatitis compared to the effect of each of the specified factors separately. The results obtained can find wide application in medical practice for the treatment of fungal lesions of the skin, oral cavity, female genital area, and so forth. The presence of photosensitizer (Amphotericin B), approved for use, and phototherapeutic equipment corresponding to its absorption spectrum make it possible to develop the necessary medical technologies.