EVALUATION OF NZ-2-OXA-1,3-DIAZOL-4-YL)AMINO]-2-DEOXY-D-GLUCOSE, A NEW FLUORESCENT DERIVATIVE OF GLUCOSE, FOR VIABILITY ASSESSMENT OF YEASTCANDIDA-ALBICANS

A new fluorescent derivative of D-glucose, enz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)a mino]-2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-NBDG), which had been previously developed for the analysis of glucose uptake activity by living cells, was inves tigated to evaluate its applicability for assaying the viability of ye ast Candida albicans. Lineweaver-Burk plots showed the uptake of 2-NBD G to be competitively inhibited by D-glucose and not by L-glucose, whi ch suggested the involvement of the glucose transporting system of C. albicans in the uptake of 2-NBDG. A good correlation was obtained betw een the yeast viability, determined by the plate-count method, and the 2-NBDG uptake activity of yeast cells (correlation constant: r = 0.97 ). This is expected to lead to the development of a new fluorescent pr obe for the determination of yeast cell viability.