Green synthesis and antifungal effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on oral Candida albicans pathogen

Increased oral infections and resistance of microorganisms to existing antimicrobial compounds are among the problems of oral health. The role of Candida albicans in tooth decay is established today. The green synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) was examined in this study to reduce the side effects of its synthesis and investigate the antifungal activity of this nanoparticle on the oral pathogen C. albicans. The Taguchi method was used to design nine experiments, and TiO2 NPs were synthesized microbially using Bacillus sp. In the designed experiments, the effect of three factors, Meta-titanic acid concentration, glucose concentration, and incubation time at three different levels, was investigated to identify the optimal conditions for the synthesis of TiO2 NPs. Then, the antifungal activity of TiO2 NPs on the oral pathogen of C. albicans in vitro was investigated by the colony formation unit (CFU) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods. Based on the results, it was estimated that the nanoparticles synthesized under optimal conditions prevent fungi' growth by 73%, which was consistent with the result of experiment 6. Various analyses were used to examine the morphology, structural properties, and formation of nanoparticles, which confirmed nanoparticles' synthesis under favorable conditions. The findings indicated that the green method's TiO2 NPs could be used effectively as an antimicrobial coating in dental equipment.