Synthesis of novel carboxylic and phosphonic acid corroles: Spectroscopic characterizations and antifungal properties.

The antifungal activity of acid-functionalized corroles, with and without ultra-high-intensity irradiation, was investigated. Their antifungal efficacy was evaluated against the yeast Candida albicans. Corroles functionalized with phosphonic acids exhibited MICs values of 25-50 μg/mL against Candida albicans. However, ultra-high-intensity irradiation significantly increased the antifungal activity of most of the tested corroles. The best results (3.12 μg/mL) were obtained with Cor4a-b diacid corroles functionalized with fluorine atoms after only 3 min of ultra-high-intensity irradiation (250 mW/cm2, 405 nm). ROS production studies in the presence and absence of C. albicans confirmed that the antifungal mechanism of these corroles may be correlated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells.