Conclusion
The study of the pro-oxidant capability of amphotericin B was carried
out through the use of an amphotericin B model AMP. The AMP
photosensitizer study was performed employing the density functional
theory. In this study, the electron transfer mechanism was based on the
Marcus theory, which considers the lipid medium to mimic the environment
of the cell membrane. Thermodynamic results show that AMP can be a
pro-oxidant molecule through types I and II mechanisms. The kinetic
results indicate that AMP is a pro-oxidant molecule mainly through the
type II mechanism. The AMP showed a reaction rate constant for the types
I and II mechanisms of 8.94 x 109 and 1.89 x
1010 M−1 s−1,
respectively, while the overall reaction rate constant was 2.79 x
1010 M−1 s−1.
Therefore, the results of this study support the pro-oxidant capability
of amphotericin B in lipid media and considering that ergosterol is more
susceptible to undergoing oxidative damage by ROS than cholesterol, this
mechanism could contribute toward the antifungal activity of
amphotericin B; as well as invite researchers to study in greater detail
the biological effects of its storage and pharmaceutical administration
in the absence or presence of light.