Derivates of the Antifungal Peptide Cm-p5 Inhibit Development of Candida auris Biofilms In Vitro

Growth in biofilms as a fascinating and complex microbial lifestyle has become widely accepted as one of the key features of pathogenic microbes, to successfully express their full virulence potential and environmental persistence. This also increases the threat posed by Candida auris, which has a high intrinsic ability to persist on abiotic surfaces including those of surgical instruments and medical tubing. In a previous study, cyclic and helical-stabilized analogues of the antifungal peptide Cm-p5 were designed and synthetized, and proved to have increased activities against C. albicans and C. parapsilosis, but not against planktonic C. auris cells cultivated in suspension cultures. Here, we demonstrate, initially, that these derivatives, however, exhibited semi-inhibitory concentrations between 10–21 µg/mL toward C. auris biofilms. Maturated biofilms were also arrested between 71–97%. These novel biofilm inhibitors may open urgently needed new routes for the development of novel drugs and treatments for the next stage of fight against C. auris.