Chemical Profiling of Candida albicans Growth Phases by Vibrational Spectroscopy

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen whose growth phase-dependent chemical changes play a critical role in its physiology, pathogenicity, and response to treatment. Here, vibrational spectroscopy combined with chemometric models was applied to investigate differences in spectral signatures of C. albicans yeast cells across different growth phases. C. albicans isolated from different clinical presentations were subjected to spectral analysis at multiple time points over a 24 h period using a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer with a built-in Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) device. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares Regression analysis (PLS-R) demonstrated that exponential phase and stationary phase time points were spectroscopically distinct based on variations in protein, lipid, polysaccharide, and DNA bands. Across the chemometric methods, the bands associated with glucans, chitin and mixed mannan, and DNA were significant, with the mannan band emerging as a distinctive feature of stationary phase time points in both analytical approaches. Notably, the PLS-R analysis yielded a strong linear correlation between time points and spectral bands, highlighting the reliability of these spectroscopic signatures in characterizing growth phases. This comprehensive analysis highlights the distinct spectroscopic profiles associated with C. albicans growth phases, shedding light on the intraphase chemistry of yeast cells. Our findings underscore the potential of vibrational spectroscopy as a valuable tool for investigating the dynamics of fungal growth and inform future advances in diagnostics and therapeutic strategies for fungal infections.