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Review
. 2017 Jun;37(4):441-458.
doi: 10.3109/07388551.2016.1167667. Epub 2016 Apr 19.

Advances in Candida detection platforms for clinical and point-of-care applications

Mohammadali Safavieh  1 , Chad Coarsey  2   3 , Nwadiuto Esiobu  4 , Adnan Memic  5 , Jatin Mahesh Vyas  6 , Hadi Shafiee  1 , Waseem Asghar  2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Advances in Candida detection platforms for clinical and point-of-care applications

Mohammadali Safavieh et al. Crit Rev Biotechnol. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Invasive candidiasis remains one of the most serious community and healthcare-acquired infections worldwide. Conventional Candida detection methods based on blood and plate culture are time-consuming and require at least 2-4 days to identify various Candida species. Despite considerable advances for candidiasis detection, the development of simple, compact and portable point-of-care diagnostics for rapid and precise testing that automatically performs cell lysis, nucleic acid extraction, purification and detection still remains a challenge. Here, we systematically review most prominent conventional and nonconventional techniques for the detection of various Candida species, including Candida staining, blood culture, serological testing and nucleic acid-based analysis. We also discuss the most advanced lab on a chip devices for candida detection.

Keywords: Blood culture; disease diagnostics; invasive Candidiasis; laboratory on a chip; loop-mediated isothermal amplification; microfluidics; nanotechnology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic of conventional and nonconventional methods for Candida detection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CFW staining of Candida spp. (A) Fluorescent image of C. albicans after germ tube production. The long tubes are pseudohyphae, the characteristic morphology of C. albicans. (B) UV fluorescent image of C. tropicalis having oval shape and bright CFW staining over whole cell. (C) Fluorescent image of C. torulopsis glabrata, very slight CFW staining at the ends of oval cells. (D) Fluorescent image of C. krusei, slight CFW staining at the end of elongated cells. (E) Fluorescent image of C. parapsilosis, dull fluorescence over whole elongated cells. Reproduced with the permission from.[54]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Appearance of colonies on CHROMagar (Left: 1× magnification) and Corn meal-Tween 80 agar (Right: 400× magnification) after 48 h of incubation. (A) C. albicans. (B) C. dubliniensis. (C) C. tropicalis. (D) T. beigelii. (E) C. krusei. (F) C. glabrata. (G) C. parapsilosis. (H) C. neoformans. Reproduced with the permission from.[72]
Figure 4
Figure 4
Detection and comparison of colonies of Candida on blood agar and CHROMagar. Growth of C. albicans (A and B), C. krusei (C and D), C. tropicalis (E and F), and C. glabrata (G and H) on CHROMagar, with direct isolation from blood culture bottled medium (A, C, E and G) compared to that seen with inoculation from culture on standard solid medium (B, D, F and H). Reproduced with the permission from.[82]
Figure 5
Figure 5
Microchips for Candida detection. (A) Integration of SlipChip and Dielectrophoresis (DEP) for fungal separation and PCR amplification. (a) Schematic workflow process of fungal and pathogen detections from blood sample taken from patient using multiplex PCR. (b) Photograph of the chip loaded with food dye. (c–f) Water diluted sample, containing blood were mixed properly with the blood cell ghost (BCGs), fungal and pathogens and was injected into the channels. (g–k) The top plate consists of PCR mixture and the bottom plate has the pathogens and fungal spp. that are separated by the DEP and the contaminant is washed away. The bottom plate is slip back to be mixed with the captured pathogens and then initiates PCR reaction followed by fluorescent detection. (B) (a–c) Image of the advanced liquid logic chip, its reader and fully assembled microwell cartridge showing location of sample, reagent wells, and other solutions. (d) Schematic of the on/off magnet to merge the droplets, extend the droplet into the column, and split two droplets. (e) The droplet logic has been used for extraction, washing, purification and elution of DNA from beads over the magnet. (C) Fraunhofer iVD platform. (a–b) Schematic and image of the Fraunhofer iVD cartridge consists of the total internal reflectance fluorescence (TRIF) optical sensor as well as electrochemical sensor. The cartridge was fabricated based on half microtiter plate (credit card size) and has various micropumps and eight reservoirs for sample and reagent storage. The amplified product is pumped to the TRIF sensor or electrochemical sensor for further analysis. (c) Images of TRIF sensor for various pathogen; E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeroginose, and C. albican. Reproduced with the permission from [150,153,161].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Integrated DEP and SERS chip for Candida detection. (A) Microimage of integrated DEP chip consists of several sections of filtering, focusing, sorting and separation. (B) Schematic representation of 3D electrode configuration for the separation of different particles including C. albicans which is detected by SERS. Reproduced with the permission from [24].
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