DEVELOPMENT OF ANTICANDIDAL DELIVERY SYSTEMS .1. ANTICANDIDAL ACTIVITIES OF ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS AND SYNERGISTIC COMBINATION WITH OTHER DRUGS

Susceptibility testing with antifungal agents, e.g., minimum inhibitor y concentration (MIC) determination, is performed to obtain reliable d ata that permit selection of the most suitable agents for treatment of an infective condition. To determine the drugs that provide maximum e ffectiveness against oral candidiasis, the MICs of various antifungal agents were determined. Also, synergism between two chosen antifungal agents was evaluated, and the effect of benzocaine, an anesthetic, and hydrocortisone, an antiinflammatory agent, on their MICs was examined . It was observed that among all the drugs tested, clotrimazole was th e most promising candidate for use as an oral local antifungal. The co mbination of clotrimazole and chlorhexidine resulted in a decrease in the MIG. While the addition of hydrocortisone to this combination resu lted in a slight increase in the MIG, the inclusion of benzocaine resu lted in a substantial decrease in the MIC of the antifungal agent comb ination.