Innovative screening and drug susceptibility analysis on Candida albicans using Foldscope microscopy

Microscopy is a basic and integral tool of health care and clinical medicine. It is not routinely available in health centers of rural and remote areas. Many individuals live in such resource-constrained locations with limited access to health care where fungal infections such as Candida albicans could be life-threatening. A smart mobile phone-based microscope like Foldscope has been used in this study to see its feasibility in a quick, easy, and cost-effective diagnosis of various infections. Foldscope is a simple, low cost, and portable device that supports inexpensive diagnostic testing in underserviced locations. We have used Foldscope to see the effect of some antifungal agent on an important human fungal pathogen C. albicans that causes the disease Candidiasis. Several molecules were screened in silico and Anthrone and l -asparagine were selected for further biochemical study based on their prominent results in molecular docking that was performed using the Schrodinger software licensed version 10.5, USA. Anthrone and l -asparagine have significant docking scores. So they were selected for further in vitro experimental analysis with the help of a Foldscope. We have determined the Minimum Inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Anthrone and l -asparagine against C. albicans for its antifungal therapeutic effect and they were further subjected to susceptibility testing. Morphological changes were observed and acquired by the Foldscope. The results obtained through Foldscope revealed that Anthrone and l -asparagine subsequently reduce hyphae formation in C. albicans. Overall results indicated that Foldscope holds promise for delivering low-cost laboratory-based technology to under-serviced locations and could be used for clinical investigation and public health care.