ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses experimental methods for detection of fungal metabolites in biofluids and tissues. Detection of fungal metabolites in infected tissues and body fluids is a potentially attractive approach to rapid diagnosis and monitoring of deep mycoses. Secondary metabolites and other macromolecular compounds, such as proteins, lipids, or carbohydrates isolated from respective groups of microorganisms, are utilized in chemotaxonomic approaches to the classification and identification of fungi and lichenized fungi. The possibility that fungal sugars might be diagnostic markers of candidemia and invasive candidiasis was first raised in 1974. The potential value of arabinitol as a diagnostic marker of candidiasis was improved following recognition that the D-enantiomer is the form produced by fungi, whereas the L-enantiomer is the form produced by vertebrates. As a specific diagnostic test, measurement of serum D-arabinitol is limited by the inability to distinguish between Candida spp. and hence guide antifungal drug selection based on species association.
