Mass spectrometry in the assessment of susceptibility to azole antifungals and amphotericin B in Candida and Aspergillus isolates: a comparison of accuracy with classical methods

• Grant number: 24/06584-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Angelica Zaninelli Schreiber
• Grantee: João Pedro Guedes Xavier
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Infections caused by fungi have been a growing concern in recent years, representing an important cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in hospitalized patients and the immunocompromised population. The progressive acquisition of resistance by pathogens to the limited antifungal pharmacological repertoire available represents an extremely serious challenge for the control of these infections. In this context, the adequate identification of pathogenic agents, as well as the detection of antifungal resistance, are essential. However, the slowness and laboriousness of classical methods make it urgent to improve alternative techniques that are equally accurate, fast and objective, with MALDI TOF mass spectrometry being a promising candidate, although it still lacks substantial clinical validation in the literature. The present study aims to investigate the correspondence of the results obtained in susceptibility tests to azole antifungals and amphotericin B in isolates of Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. carried out by the MALDI-TOF MS methodology with the results obtained by the traditional Broth Microdilution method, in order to prove the agreement of these susceptibility tests by MALDI-TOF with classically established susceptibility tests. Furthermore, the identification of potential specific biomarkers for resistance in protein spectra generated by mass spectrometry.