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Investigation of the synergistic and antagonistic effects of azole and echinocandin combination therapy on the pathogenic mould Aspergillus fumigatus

Invasive aspergillosis is a life-threatening fungal infection. In about 90 % of the cases it is caused by the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Aspergillus species tends to severely infect individuals who have a weakened immune system such as those undergoing chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation or those in intensive care. There are three classes of antifungal drugs that can be used to treat fungal infections caused by Aspergillus species: azoles, echinocandins, and polyenes. The possible benefit of using more than one class of antifungals in the treatment of invasive fungal infections has been the focus of multiple research studies. However, this yielded conflicting evidence with no clear distinction on the benefits or the lack of, in using combination therapy. The aim of the proposed project is to investigate how a combination of an azole with an echinocandin antifungal would affect the growth rate and viability of A. fumigatus. Different combinations of azoles and echinocandins will be used and compared to each other. The effect on the growth and viability of Aspergillus hyphae will be recorded using live-cell imaging and an automated microscope. We hope that the conclusions drawn from the project would help to provide insights for future combination therapy and clinical studies