Assessment of in vivo activity of bifonazole against dermatophytic infection in guinea pigs on the basis of the amount of a specific fungal cell wall component chitin in the infected skin.

The severity of experimental dermal infection with Trichophyton mentagrophytes in guinea pigs with or without receiving topical treatment with 1% creams of bifonazole or clotrimazole were estimated on the basis of fungal chitin content in the infected tissue. This criterion was favorably comparable with that based on local symptoms and, therefore, proved to be useful as a more objective and quantitative measure for assessment of therapeutic efficacy of such antifungal agents in the animal model of dermatophytosis.