Development of a Rapid Antifungal Susceptibility Test Utilizing a Resonating Microfluidic Channel for Clinical Diagnosis of Candida Bloodstream Infections

Abstract

Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that form part of the human microbiome. Several species of fungi are opportunistic pathogens which can cause detrimental human infections. In humans, fungal diseases have been known to be the cause of sepsis, a life-threatening reaction caused by the complication of an infection. Additionally, the Candida species causes yeast infections in the mucosal tissues of many healthy people. In this thesis, I work to develop a rapid antifungal susceptibility testing method to guide clinical treatment of serious yeast infections. I began by establishing a novel method of detecting Candida growth in vitro by measuring changes in growth media density. Then I examined how this approach can be used to identify resistance to clinically relevant antifungals. I also performed additional studies to further our understanding of growth media density changes during in vitro culture of Candida. Development of a rapid antifungal susceptibility test will allow clinicians to accurately and efficiently identify treatments for Candida fungal blood infections that will ultimately lead to higher patient survival.