Differentiation between Candida species isolated from diabetic foot by fatty acid methyl ester analysis using gas chromatography

Gas chromatography (GC) was used to differentiate 100 isolates of Candida species (Candida parapsilosis, Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida famata and Candida glabrata) from 22 of 509 diabetic patients in whom the same species had been isolated from ulcer and interdigital spaces of the same and/or the other foot. All clinical isolates were identified by quantitative differences in the composition of six cell fatty acids (CFA). The values of the coefficients of variability (CV) of CFA show that the isolates from foot ulcers and interdigital spaces of the same diabetic patient probably belong to different chemotypes of the same Candida species.