3.2. In vitro BNZ resistance profile
Inhibitory concentrations 50 and 90 (IC50 and
IC90, respectively) are shown in Figure 2 . BNZ
showed higher activity against the parasite forms relevant to human
infection (intracellular amastigotes and trypomastigotes). The infection
rate, the average number of amastigote forms per Vero cell and the
infectivity index were also determined (Figure 3A-3B ), giving
and idea of the killing rate. It is widely known that the parasitic cure
as soon as possible after infection can prevent parasite reproliferation
and serious disease (Rao et al. , 2019). This topic has been
notably supported, especially after the failure of the lastest
candidates – posaconazole and ravuconazole – in clinical trials
(Molina et al. , 2014; Martín-Escolano et al. , 2020a). BNZ
is a fast-acting and cidal drug, and that is why here we observed a
significant reduction in the infectivity index to practically zero at 50
μM.