Figure 8.

The amount of extracted ergosterol (A) and confocal laser scanning microscopy images (CLSM) (B) of T. rubrum ATCC 28189 treated with 2-chalcone, fluconazole, and amphotericin B. The ergosterol quantification graph shows that treatments with 2-chalcone in the dark and 2-chalcone-mediated PDT reduced the amount of sterols extracted, suggesting that this molecule may have an action on ergosterol or its synthesis chain. Amphotericin B and fluconazole also reduced the amount of steroids extracted, proving their direct action and on the synthesis chain, respectively. In CLSM images, the cell wall is stained with calcofluor white. Cells treated with 2-chalcone showed changes in the cell wall with compromised structure. However, cells treated with fluconazole showed cell wall integrity. **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.