Candida

• Germ tubes (short hyphal out growths; in serum at 370C) as more than 90% of C.albicans isolates produce positive germ tubes.

• Chlamydospore production on semistarvation media, such as cornmeal or cream of rice tween agar, TOCmedium inoculated under sterile glass cover slips.

• TOC medium :tween 80,oxgall, caffeic acid• It can be used for detection of: Pigment, germ

tube and chlamydospores.• IF there is germ tube

+chlamydospores=C.albicans. • C.tropicals doesn't produce such structures on

TOC medium.• If there is brown pigment production on the

heavy streak, C.neoformans is present.

• The API Candida system consists of a strip of 10 API tubes allowing 12 colorimetric tests to be performed: 5 carbohydrate acidification tests (glucose, galactose, sucrose, trehalose, and raffinose)

and 7 enzymatic tests (β-maltosidase, α-amylase, β -xylosidase, β -glucuronidase, urea hydrolysis, N-acetyl- β -glucosaminidase, and β -galactosidase). Inoculation of the tubes was performed by adding yeast suspension (inoculum [McFarland standard of 3] in saline) to the dehydrated substrates. After an 18- to 24-h incubation at 350C, the reactions were read visually without addition of reagents. The results were transformed into a numerical profile

• Candifast: is a system for Candida identification depending on sensitivity of the isolate to seven antifungal agents and carbohydrate utilization.

• Fungichrome1: is another identification system based on detection of carbohydrate utilization pattern, urease and phenoloxidase activities, actidione sensitivity and chromogenic substrates for N-acetyl-B-D galactose amidase, L-proline amidase. For epidemiologic and clinical purposes it is desirable to be able to distinguish individual strains of Candida spp form each other.

• CHROMagarTM Chromogenic Media• Increase the efficiency of laboratory testing.

Save time and save labor costs with with procedures identical to those used in classical agar culture methods.

• chromogenic media include specific chromogenic substrates .

• CHROMagar chromogenic media allow isolation and direct differentiation of several pathogenic microorganisms by the color of the colonies.