Zerumbone enhances the photodynamic effect against biofilms of fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans clinical isolates.

The aim was the evaluation of Zerumbone (ZER) associated with Photodithazine® (PDZ) mediated antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) on fluconazole-resistant (CaR) and -susceptible (CaS) Candida albicans biofilms, and well as two fluconazole-resistant clinical isolates (R70 and R14). Biofilms (48 h) were treated with ZER (256 µg/mL) for 20 min, followed by the absence or presence of the photosensitizer (PDZ; 200 mg/L) and Light Emitting Diode (LED; 600 nm; 50 Jcm), either alone or in combination, resulting in 8 treatment groups (Control; ZER; aPDT; PDZ; LED; ZER+aPDT; ZER+PDZ; ZER+LED; n = 12). The treatments were evaluated by colony-forming unit (CFU), total and insoluble biomass, extracellular matrix components (ECM) quantification [extracellular DNA (eDNA), proteins, alkali (ASP) and water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP)], and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM).