Imidazolium‐Based Ionic Liquids as Antifungal and Antibiofilm Agents Against Candida tropicalis

ABSTRACT Invasive candidiasis are major healthcare‐related invasive fungal infections. This is particularly true due to the formation of complex biofilm structures on medical devices, leading to the development of difficult‐to‐treat infections, such as urinary catheters, which are frequently associated with Candida tropicalis infections. The limited antifungal therapeutic arsenal currently available for treatment, coupled with adverse effects, toxicity, and the growing antifungal resistance, along with the growing demand for innovative antibiofilm substances, has encouraged the study of alternative strategies to address this problem. Therefore, the present study sought to evaluate the in vitro antifungal profile of 18 ionic liquids (ILs) against various medically important Candida spp. strains by assessing their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The relevance of the results obtained for imidazolium‐based ILs against the C. tropicalis strain, with MICs ranging from 2 µg.mL −1 to 16 µg.mL −1 , motivated further investigation of their potential action against fungal biofilms. Imidazolium‐based ILs with amino acids and long alkyl chains were able to reduce cell viability by more than 80%, showing low toxicity by in silico evaluation. This positions them as promising candidates for future exploration in ex vivo and in vivo models of systemic Candida infection.