Suggested mechanisms for the antimycotic activity of the polyene antibiotics and the N-substituted imidazoles.

The polyene antibiotics and the N-substituted imidazoles (azoles) are two groups of clinically important antifungal drugs. Both are hydrophobic and both interact with the plasma membrane of susceptible fungi but the mode of action of the two groups is not fully resolved. In this paper their biological properties are reviewed in the context of recent work so that common features may be identified and further areas of research indicated.