Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles by Fusarium subglutinans and Their Antifungal Activity Against Drug-Resistant Vaginal Candida Isolates from Baghdad City

Background and objective: Antifungal resistance among Candida species poses a severe global health hazard, particularly in immunocompromised and hospitalized patients. This study looked at the clinical prevalence of vaginal candidiasis and evaluated a green nanotechnology. Methods: Candida spp isolated from (25) clinical samples collected from Medical City / Teaching Laboratories Baghdad Hospital. Antifungal susceptibility testing was carried out. At the same time, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were biosynthesized by an eco-friendly green route using the cell-free filtrate of the fungus Fusarium subglutinans. This formulation was evaluated against clinical isolates of drug–resistant Candida species causing vaginal candidiasis. The synthesized ZnONPs were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the ZnO NPs was determined against the drug resistant isolate was determined. Results: Candida species were predominantly identified as C.albicans (52%),followed by non-albicans species such as C.krusei, C. glabrata (9.5%) and C.tropicalis (19%).Testing for antifungal susceptibility showed that the isolates' azole resistance had rapidly increased. While Candida glabrata and Candida krusei showed 100% resistance to fluconazole, Candida albicans showed high resistance to both clotrimazole (90%) and fluconazole (95%). Connversely, polyenes continue to be quite effective, and C.tropicalis demonstrated 100% sensitivity to nystatin. Characterization of the biosynthesized ZnO NPs, confirmed the formation of nanocrystalline particles with hexagonal wurtzite structure and an average size of 45 nm. Uv–vis absorption peak at 259nm.The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of these ZnO NPs was found to be 6.25µg/mL against the drug resistant Candida isolates. Conclusion: These results confirm the important loss of azole effectiveness and show how soon species-level identification is needed to direct treatment.resolve the challenge , that green-synthesised ZnO NPs have a lot to offer as an effective alternative antifungal agent against vaginal candidiasis that is resistant to drugs.