CANDICHROM® II Pack

Intended use

The frequency of fungal infections and in particular those associated with yeasts have increased considerably over the last ten years. The identification of the species, whether as a single agent or of different types, present in a clinical specimen has become indispensable for determining the correct therapeutic option.

CANDICHROM® II Pack (ready-to-pour media) has been designed for the primary isolation of yeasts and filamentous fungi, as well as the presumptive identification of Candida albicans directly from different clinical specimens.

Principle

The reconstituted CANDICHROM® II agar plate contains a specific chromogenic substrate, whose hydrolysis enables the direct identification of Candida albicans (blue colonies).

CANDICHROM® II Pack is a ready-to-pour chromogenic medium also containing an enriched supplement that allows a rapid growth of most yeasts with an equivalent growth as Sabouraud agar within 24 hours. The addition of a mixture of antibiotics inhibits the growth of the majority of bacterial contaminants.

Mixed cultures can be identified by macroscopic morphological characteristics.

Simple protocol

Easy-to-read and easy-to-interpret results

Results are visualized by a simple observation of the reconstituted CANDICHROM® II chromogenic agar plate. Candida albicans colonies are a dark blue-green color after 24 hours of incubation, with the intensity of the color increasing with time. Differentiation of other yeasts and filamentous fungi is carried out by visual observation of the color and macroscopic morphological characteristics of the colonies as described in the instruction leaflet.

Reagents and material

• CANDICHROM® II Pack (ready-to-pour media for agar plates):
• CANDICHROM® II Base : 4 bottles of 160 ml agar base
• CANDICHROM® II Supplement : 4 bottles of 20 ml supplement

Stability and storage
The agar base and the supplement CANDICHROM® II Pack are stable at 2-8°C in the dark in their original packaging until the expiry date indicated on the box.
Performance
The performance characteristics of CANDICHROM^® II Pack are similar to those of the ready-to-use CANDICHROM^® agar plate : very good fertility for filamentous yeasts and fungi, equivalent to that of a Sabouraud agar (91.2% of the isolates were detected within 24 hours and 96% of the isolates were detected within 48 hours). Identification of Candida albicanswithin 24 hours of incubation (83.5% of the strains were directly identified within 24 hours and 97% of the strains were directly identified within 48 hours).
Material required but not provided

• Sterile Petri dishes
• Boiling water
• Sterile recipients or swabs for specimen collection
• Loops for isolation
• Incubator at 37°C
• Waste container