In Vitro Efficacy of Silver Metallic Nanoparticles on Cytotoxic Phagocytic Activity of Macrophages to Promastigote of Leishmania Tropica

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are on the rise due to number of factors, including unplanned urbanisation, international travel and trade, and climate change. The female Lutzomyia sandfly bite is the means of contracting cutaneous leishmaniasis, one of the NTDs. The toxicity of macrophages in response to silver nanoparticles against L. tropica promastigotes was estimated by using four replicates were employed for each concentration to guarantee precise results, and serially attenuated concentrations (0.5, 1, 2 µg/mL) were employed. The viability of macrophages and Leishmania in the promastigote stage was verified using the MTT assay colorimetric test that generates a distinct colour change when living cells are present. The viability of the cells is measured at 586 nm using a wavelength reader. The results suggested that silver nanoparticles were effective in reducing the proliferation of promastigotes. The most significant antiparasitic effects were demonstrated by Ag NPs, which substantially reduced parasite viability at the lowest concentration (0.5 µg/mL), absorbance reduction from control 0.249 to 0.076) nm.