Amphotericin B (AB) is the standard drug for invasive fungal infection therapy. It has a broad spectrum of activity and it is the best antifungal available against most yeasts and molds. Its therapeutic use, however, is limited by significant side effects, leading to a low therapeutic index when it is used as the traditional formulation (Fungizone®). Due to self-association, AB can form pores i...

The UV-visible results of this kinetic study show that amphothericin B as Fungizone is a much stronger oxidant than CuSO(4), itself a powerful oxidant of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Amphotericin B as AmBisome alone has no oxidizing effect on LDL while a mixture of both AmBisome and CuSO(4) induces an important potentialization of the LDL oxidation. These results allow us to believe that the ...

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the cytotoxicity of amphotericin B (AMB; trade name Fungizone [FZ]) following the administration of FZ and a heat-treated form of FZ (HFZ) to LLC-PK(1) pig kidney cells and Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii cells. HFZ was significantly less toxic to kidney cells than FZ at all concentrations tested. For both FZ and HFZ, the concentration rang...

In this study, we tested the efficacy of amphotericin B (AmB)-arabinogalactan (AmB-AG) conjugates for the treatment of experimental leishmaniasis. Chemical conjugation of AmB to a water-soluble, biodegradable, and biocompatible polymer could present many advantages over presently available AmB formulations. Two conjugates were tested, a reduced (rAmB-AG) form and an unreduced (uAmB-AG) form. In...

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the antileishmanial effects of topically applied lipid-based formulations containing amphotericin B (AmB) in CBA mice as a model for human cutaneous leishmaniasis. Such treatment, if efficacious, is expected to be superior to systemic treatments since, by acting in a localized manner, it will require lower, and therefore less toxic, drug dosages. Th...