Detection of Cell Surface Hydrophobicity among Clinical Isolates of Candida albicans

Candida is the fourth most common cause of blood stream infection in hospitalised patients. Candidiasis is associated with intravenous lines and prosthetic lines are problematic, as they can act as substrates for biofilm production. Hydrophobic interaction plays a cardinal role in the adherence of candida species towards wide array of surfaces to initiate any kind of nosocomial infections. A sum of 20 clinical strains of Candida albicans were detected for cell surface hydrophobicity by salt aggregation method. Higher percentage of isolates were shown to be cell surface hydrophobicity positive. This indicates the necessity of detecting the cell surface hydrophobicity in Candida albicans in view of higher resistance profile, biofilm formation.