ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access

Derick Erl P. Sumalapao1,2 , Pauline Bridgette D. Salazar2,3, Frederico Martin D. Alegre2,3, Nelson R. Villarante4 and Nina G. Gloriani5

1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines.
2Biology Department, College of Science, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
3College of Medicine, De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute, Cavite, Philippines.
4Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines.
5Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines.
J. Pure Appl. Microbiol., 2019, 13 (4):1881-1891 | Article Number: 5862
https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.13.4.01 | © The Author(s). 2019
Received: 20/09/2019 | Accepted: 08/11/2019 | Published: 14/12/2019
Abstract

Prolonged use of implanted medical devices has been linked with device-associated infections. Since enteral tube feeding is increasing worldwide, the present study described the morphology of Candida albicans biofilms on the surface of silicone nasogastric tube (NGT) using fluorescence microscopy. With the emergence of multidrug-resistant fungal infections, the present study assessed the susceptibility profile of the biofilms to antifungal azoles namely fluconazole, miconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole using the standard disc diffusion method. Microscopic studies of C. albicans biofilms revealed a complex heterogeneous structure with yeast cells and hyphal elements entrenched within a polysaccharide matrix. Planktonic C. albicans cells remained susceptible with posaconazole, fluconazole, miconazole, and voriconazole. However, the fungal biofilms exhibited resistance with miconazole. There was a significant reduction in the zone of inhibition on the 24-h, 48-h, and 72-h biofilm formation with posaconazole, voriconazole, and fluconazole, respectively. Kinetic investigation on C. albicans biofilm with posaconazole revealed a zero-order kinetic profile (R2=0.9774) whereas with voriconazole exhibited a first-order kinetic profile (R2=0.9974). These findings can possibly provide information regarding the resistance of fungal biofilms with antifungal azoles. Demonstration of common biofilm features will extend the findings of this study beyond fungi to polymicrobial infections, as new information and insights will influence several disciplines ranging from environmental microbiology to pharmaceutical drug design intended for biofilm-associated infections.

Keywords

Posaconazole, Fluconazole, Miconazole, Voriconazole, Feeding tube, Kinetic equations.

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© The Author(s) 2019. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.