# Cellular Entry, Cytotoxicityicity, and Antifungal Activity of Newly Synthesized Dendrimers
## 3 Results
### Cell Cytotoxicityicity
#### 3.2.2 Antifungal Activity  
Antifungal activity was evaluated against the fungal strains _Aspergillus fumigatus_, _Alternaria alternata_, _Aspergillus niger_, _Penicillium grisefoulvum_, and _Candida albicans_ using the resazurin method on a 96-well plate. Both dendrimers demonstrated potent antifungal activities against all five tested fungal strains. At the highest concentrations of 0.589 and 1.179 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro L}\), DAB exhibited a strong antifungal effect on all fungal strains, effectively suppressing fungal growth for up to 96 h from the start of micromycetic cultivation (Table 2). The lower concentration of 0.295 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro L}\) inhibited _Alt. alternata_ growth for up to 72 h and the growth of the other four strains for up to 24 h post treatment. Among the fungal strains, _C. albicans_ was the most sensitive to DAB dendrimers. Even the lowest concentration of 0.0369 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro L}\) inhibits its growth for up to 24 h.  
Figure 2: MTT assay for cytotoxicity of HFF-1 cells at the 24 th hour after treatment with different concentrations of DAB and DAB-Br. Statistical significance between the effects of DAB and DAB-Br at each tested concentration is denoted with *** (\(p<0.001\)) and *** (\(p<0.01\)), while between the control (untreated cells), DAB, and DAB-Br, at each tested concentration, it is indicated with *** (\(p<0.05\)), *** (\(p<0.01\)), and *** (\(p<0.001\)). The designation “ns” (not significant) shows statistically insignificant differences. Figure 3 presents the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the two dendrimers against the five different fungal strains. The results indicate that DAB-Br exhibits stronger antifungal activity compared to DAB, as evidenced by its lower MIC values ranging from 0.074 to 0.147 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\), whereas DAB shows a MIC of 0.295 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\). Among the five tested fungal strains, _Candida albicans_ demonstrated the highest sensitivity to both dendrimers, with equal MIC values of 0.0369 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline
**DAB** & **1.179 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\)** & **0.589 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\)** & **0.295 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\)** & **0.148 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\)** & **0.074 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro g}\)/\(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\)** & **0.0369 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\mu L}\)** \\ \hline _Asp. fumigatus_ & 96 h & 96 h & 24 h & & \\ _Alt. alternata_ & 96 h & 96 h & 72 h & & \\ _Asp. niger_ & 96 h & 96 h & 24 h & & \\ _P. griseofulcum_ & 96 h & 96 h & 24 h & & \\ C. _ albicans_ & 96 h & 96 h & 24 h & 24 h & 24 h \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Antifungal activity of DAB against five fungal strains. Figure 3: Dendrimers’ minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) on five fungal strains. Statistical significance between the effects of DAB and DAB-Br on each fungal strain is denoted with *** (\(p<0.001\)). The designation “ns” (not significant) shows statistically insignificant differences.