Techniques for antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida albicans biofilms

Candida albicans is capable of forming biofilms on a variety of inert and biological surfaces. Cells in biofilms display phenotypic properties that are radically different from their free-floating planktonic counterparts, including their recalcitrance to antimicrobial agents. Consequently, Candida biofilm-associated infections are difficult to treat and to fully eradicate with standard antifungal therapy. Here, we describe a simple, fast, inexpensive and highly reproducible microtiter plate-based assay for the antifungal susceptibility testing of C. albicans biofilms. Because of its simplicity, compatibility with widely available 96-well microplate platform, high throughput, and automation potential, this assay represents an important tool towards the standardization of in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing of fungal biofilms.