Combination of infra-red light with nanogold targeting macrophages in the treatment of Leishmania major infected BALB/C mice.

Purpose: In the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), developing drug resistance, existing toxic effects of drugs and failure respond to treatment cause the need to try different treatment methods. We investigated the effect of gold-conjugated macrophage-specific antibody on amastigotes under infra-red light for the treatment of CL.

Methods: Female BALB/c (4-8 weeks old, 20 ± 5 g weight) mice were used in the study. The strain was inoculated on the soles of mice in amastigote form and subpassed. Nanogold (Au), Au + macrophage-specific antibody (MSA) modification and near infra-red (NIR) (5 seconds) were applied to mice groups that developed cutaneous leishmaniasis on their soles. On the 5th and 10th days of the treatment, the lesions were examined clinically and pathologically.

Results: When the erythema values were examined, the highest decrease was calculated in the Au + MSA + NIR group in the measurements made on the 10 day ( < 0.014). The best improvement in 10 day measurements is in the NIR and Au + MSA + NIR groups when area values were examined ( = 0.011,  = 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of parasite load (PL) ( < 0.005) in pathological evaluation. According to PL grouping, the best result is NIR (p = 0.002). When both main titles (clinical and pathological) are examined, the Au + MSA + NIR group is thought to have an optimal therapeutical feature.

Conclusions: Au + MSA + NIR combination could be a new treatment approach for CL treatment.