ABSTRACT
Antifungal agents are a class of pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of fungal infection. Fungal infections are usually more difcult to treat than bacterial infections, because fungal organisms grow slowly and infections often occur in tissues that are poorly penetrated by antimicrobial agents (e.g., devitalized or avascular tissues). Supercial fungal infections involve cutaneous surfaces, such as skin, nails, and hair, and mucous membrane surfaces, such as oropharynx and vagina. Antifungals work by exploiting differences between mammalian and fungal cells to kill the fungal organism without dangerous effects on the host (Craig and Stitzel 1997). Unlike bacteria, both fungi and humans are eukaryotes, that is, fungal and human cells are similar at the molecular level. This makes it more difcult to nd or design drugs that target fungi without affecting human cells.
