Single-Cell Optical Nanomotion of Candida albicans in Microwells for Rapid Antifungal Susceptibility Testing

Candida albicans is an emerging multidrug-resistant opportunistic pathogen representing an important source of invasive disease in humans and generating high healthcare costs worldwide. The development of a rapid and simple antifungal susceptibility test (AFST) could limit the spread of this disease...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFermentation (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 4; p. 365
Main Authors Radonicic, Vjera, Yvanoff, Charlotte, Villalba, Maria Ines, Devreese, Bart, Kasas, Sandor, Willaert, Ronnie G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2023
Subjects
Antimicrobial agents
Candida albicans
Caspofungin
cellular nanomotion
Genotype & phenotype
Lasers
Methods
microfluidic chip
Microorganisms
microwells
Multidrug resistance
Nosocomial infections
Opportunist infection
optical nanomotion detection
Silicon wafers
single cell
Yeast
United States > US
Germany
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Summary:Candida albicans is an emerging multidrug-resistant opportunistic pathogen representing an important source of invasive disease in humans and generating high healthcare costs worldwide. The development of a rapid and simple antifungal susceptibility test (AFST) could limit the spread of this disease, increase the efficiency of treatment, and lower the risk of developing resistant strains. We developed a microfluidic chip containing an array of microwells that were designed to trap the cells and perform rapid antifungal susceptibility tests using optical nanomotion detection (ONMD). Yeast cell entrapment in a microwell allows for a very rapid exchange of growth medium with the antifungal, which enables performing single-cell ONMD measurements on the same cell before and after antifungal treatment. The exposure to a low concentration of the antifungal caspofungin or flucanozole induced a significant decrease in the nanomotion signal, demonstrating the high sensitivity of this technique. We used this chip to quantify the real-time response of individual C. albicans cells to the antifungal treatment in as fast as 10 min. This simple and label-free technique could be further developed into a simple-to-use device that allows the performance of fast AFST as part of a routine hospital procedure in developed and also eventually developing world countries.
ISSN:2311-5637
2311-5637
DOI:10.3390/fermentation9040365