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Antifungal Susceptibility Test via Single-Cell Morphology, Development, and Metabolism
Xiao Han1,2, Yanmei Zhang2,3, Xiaoshan Zheng2,3
1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China.
Analytical Chemistry
|March 27, 2026
Summary
A new multifeature antifungal susceptibility test (MAFST) offers faster and more comprehensive results for guiding fungal infection therapy. This advanced method integrates multiple cellular features for improved accuracy across various fungal species and drugs.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Spectroscopy
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) is crucial for effective antifungal therapy.
- Current AFST methods face challenges including long turnaround times and limited applicability across diverse fungal species and antifungal drug classes.
- Single-parameter phenotypic readouts often fail to capture the complexity of fungal drug responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel multifeature AFST (MAFST) platform for rapid and comprehensive antifungal susceptibility assessment.
- To integrate complementary metabolic and morphological cellular features for a more robust evaluation of antifungal drug efficacy.
- To improve the speed, accuracy, and generalizability of AFST for guiding clinical decisions in fungal infections.
Main Methods:
- Development of a MAFST platform combining single-cell Raman spectroscopy and brightfield imaging.
- Integration of metabolic and morphological data into a composite inhibition index (CII).
- Benchmarking of MAFST against standard broth microdilution methods across multiple *Candida* species and antifungal classes.
Main Results:
- The MAFST platform enables rapid and pleiotropic assessment of antifungal responses at the single-cell level.
- The composite inhibition index (CII) effectively captures coordinated cellular responses to antifungal agents.
- CII-based MAFST demonstrated high concordance with broth microdilution, significantly reducing testing time.
- The method showed broad applicability across different *Candida* species and antifungal drug classes.
Conclusions:
- MAFST provides a fast, accurate, and widely applicable method for antifungal susceptibility testing.
- By integrating multiple cellular features, MAFST offers a more comprehensive understanding of antifungal drug effects.
- This advanced AFST approach has the potential to significantly improve the management of fungal infections.
