{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T17:20:28Z","timestamp":1792516828238,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,23]],"date-time":"2026-05-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779494400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004484","name":"Tehran University of Medical Science & Health Services","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["1403-4-234-75739"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1403-4-234-75739"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004484","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Metabolic dormancy in biofilms leads to reduced drug efficacy in these communities. Different pharmacokinetics and adverse side effects complicate the simultaneous delivery of multiple drugs at appropriate concentrations to the infection site. This study aimed to develop chitosan-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with curcumin and amphotericin B (CS@MSNs-Cur-AmB) and to evaluate their antibiofilm activity combined with antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) against Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans dual-species biofilms. Methods: CS@MSNs-Cur-AmB were developed. The structure and morphology of the nanoparticles were evaluated using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), zeta potential, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Cytotoxicity toward human gingival fibroblasts was assessed. Colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU\/mL) were determined. The metabolic activity of biofilm-forming cells was measured using the tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Results: Physicochemical analyses confirmed the synthesis of CS@MSNs-Cur-AmB, revealing a particle size of 228 nm and thermal stability up to 600 \u00b0C. Cytotoxicity assays showed that CS@MSNs-Cur-AmB exhibited good biocompatibility (&gt;90%). CS@MSNs-Cur-AmB improved antimicrobial activity, which was further enhanced by blue light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation. CS@MSNs-Cur-AmB under LED irradiation showed the strongest effect, reducing metabolic activity to 27.74 \u00b1 4.08% (1 W\/cm2, 1 min), p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Formulating two drugs in nanocarrier systems may improve therapeutic efficacy by increasing local concentration and reducing systemic exposure. This offers an effective strategy for combating oral biofilms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics18060644","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T02:32:28Z","timestamp":1779676348000},"page":"644","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Chitosan-Coated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Co-Loaded with Curcumin and Amphotericin B: A Drug Delivery Approach for Photodynamic Inhibition of Dual-Species Biofilms"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8341-123X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shima","family":"Afrasiabi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laser Research Center of Dentistry, Dentistry Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417614411, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammad Reza","family":"Karimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polymer Laboratory, School of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417614411, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sepideh","family":"Khoee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polymer Laboratory, School of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417614411, Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1302-3079","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefano","family":"Benedicenti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2957-8802","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio","family":"Signore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Therapeutic Dentistry Department, Institute of Dentistry, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Trubetskaya Str. 8, b. 2, 119992 Moscow, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104838","DOI":"10.1016\/j.micpath.2021.104838","article-title":"Effects of extracellular DNA on dual-species biofilm formed by Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans","volume":"154","author":"Guo","year":"2021","journal-title":"Microb. 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