An Eco-Friendly Approach Utilizing Green Synthesized Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles for Leather Conservation against a Fungal Strain, Penicillium expansum AL1, Involved in the Biodeterioration of a Historical Manuscript

Amr Fouda; Mahmoud Abdel-Nasser; Ahmed M Eid; Saad El-Din Hassan; Aya Abdel-Nasser; Nada K Alharbi; Ahlam H AlRokban; Gomaa Abdel-Maksoud

doi:10.3390/biology12071025

An Eco-Friendly Approach Utilizing Green Synthesized Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles for Leather Conservation against a Fungal Strain, Penicillium expansum AL1, Involved in the Biodeterioration of a Historical Manuscript

Biology (Basel). 2023 Jul 20;12(7):1025. doi: 10.3390/biology12071025.

Authors

Amr Fouda¹, Mahmoud Abdel-Nasser², Ahmed M Eid¹, Saad El-Din Hassan¹, Aya Abdel-Nasser³, Nada K Alharbi⁴, Ahlam H AlRokban⁴, Gomaa Abdel-Maksoud⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
² Department of Manuscripts Conservation, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif Library, Cairo 11511, Egypt.
³ Food Toxicology and Contaminants Department, National Research Centre, Cairo 12622, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Conservation Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.

Abstract

The main hypothesis of the present research is investigating the efficacy of titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO₂-NPs) to prevent the growth of fungal strains when applied on leather under an experimental study. Therefore, fifteen fungal strains were isolated from a deteriorated historical manuscript (papers and leathers) and identified by traditional methods and ITS sequence analysis, including Aspergillus chevalieri (one isolate), A. nidulans (two strains), A. flavus (four strains), A. cristatus (one strain), A. niger (one strain), Paecilomyces fulvus (two strains), Penicillium expansum (two strains), and P. citrinum (two strains). The enzymes cellulase, amylase, pectinase, and gelatinase, which play a crucial role in biodegradation, were highly active in these fungal strains. TiO₂-NPs were formed using the cell-free filtrate of the probiotic bacterial strain, Lactobacillus plantarum, and characterized. Data showed that the TiO₂-NPs were successfully formed with a spherical shape and anatase phase with sizes of 2-8 nm. Moreover, the EDX analysis revealed that the Ti and O ions occupied the main component with weight percentages of 41.66 and 31.76%, respectively. The in vitro cytotoxicity of TiO₂-NPs toward two normal cell lines, WI38 and HFB4, showed a low toxicity effect against normal cells (IC₅₀ = 114.1 ± 8.1µg mL^-1 for Wi38, and 237.5 ± 3.5µg mL^-1 for HFB4). Therefore, concentrations of 100 μg mL^-1 were used to load on prepared leather samples before inoculation with fungal strain P. expansum AL1. The experimental study revealed that the loaded TiO₂-NPs have the efficacy to inhibit fungal growth with percentages of 73.2 ± 2.5%, 84.2 ± 1.8%, and 88.8 ± 0.6% after 7, 14, and 21 days, respectively. Also, the analyses including SEM, FTIR-ART, color change, and mechanical properties for leather inoculated with fungal strain AL1 in the absence of NPs showed high damage aspects compared to those inoculated with fungal strains in the presence of TiO₂-NPs.

Keywords: biodeterioration; biological control; fungi; green synthesis; probiotic bacteria; titanium dioxide nanoparticles.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.