Antimicrobial activity of sulphur nanoparticles on dandruff causing malassezia yeasts

Abstract

With dandruff being a common everyday problem and the market loaded with antidandruff shampoos and such skin care products, it is obvious to assume resourceful research into this area would be both objective to present scenario and lucrative potentially. Nanoparticles are frequently in use in some very powerful antimicrobial, antifungal cosmetics nowadays especially silver. However most metallic nanoparticles are harsh and often toxic, and concern remains on their ill effects. Sulphur, certified as biocompatible to eukaryotes and as soil nutrient is often used in medicine. Though sulphur nanoparticles are not much worked with it still is a strong antifungal agent and have been used in macro amount in shampoos. Our work concentrates on synthesizing sulphur nanoparticles in a surfactant system, insitu, such that it could possibly be used in curbing dandruff naturally. A surfactant has some natural antimicrobial property and therefore such combination could be a potential antidandruff hair washing formulation. To check its antidandruff activity, experiments have been conducted on Malassezia furfur the causal organism for seborrheaic dermatitis or dandruff, which have been cultured for such study in our lab. Spectroscopy based microbial growth kinetics and colony inhibition studies have been performed to show that nanoparticles of sulphur reduce proliferation of Malassezia yeast colonies abundantly, and cause cellular damage which inhibit its growth and viability considerably.