The type strains (Table (Table1)1) were inoculated in 1.5-ml Eppendorf tubes containing 0.5 ml of Sabouraud dextrose broth supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated overnight in an orbital shaker at 150 rpm and 30°C. Thereafter, fungal cultures were adjusted photometrically (absorbance at 530 nm; McFarland 0.5 standard) to a concentration of 1 × 106 to 5 × 106 cells/ml. In the case of filamentous fungi, conidia were separated from the rest of the mycelium by filtration through sterile glass wool (28). Tenfold serial dilutions of Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus (106 to 100 cells) were prepared to test the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. The fungal suspensions with predetermined concentrations were centrifuged at 5,000