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Little is known about fungal biofilms, which may cause infection and antibiotic resistance. In this study, biofilm formation by different Candida species, particularly Candida albicans and C. parapsilosis, was evaluated by using a clinically relevant model of Candida biofilm on medical devices. Candida biofilms were allowed to form on silicone elastomer and were quantified by tetrazolium (XTT) and dry weight (DW) assays. Formed biofilm was visualized by using fluorescence microscopy and confocal scanning laser microscopy with Calcofluor White (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.), concanavalin A-Alexafluor 488 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oreg.), and FUN-1 (Molecular Probes) dyes. Although minimal variations in biofilm production among invasive C. albicans isolates were seen, significant differences between invasive and noninvasive isolates (P 128 microg/ml). Importantly, XTT and FUN-1 activity showed biofilm cells to be metabolically active. In conclusion, our data show that C. albicans produces quantitatively larger and qualitatively more complex biofilms than other species, in particular, C. parapsilosis.
Kuhn et al. (Fri,) studied this question.