Table 1.

Overview of antifungal drug classes and their mechanisms of action

Class of antifungal drugs	Examples	Mechanism of action	References
Polyenes	Amphotericin B, nystatin	Penetrate fungal cell membrane and bind to ergosterol, forming pores that cause leakage of cellular content, leading to cell death	(de Oliveira Santos et al. 2018; Salazar et al. 2020; Wall and Lopez-Ribot 2020)
Azoles	Fluconazole, ketoconazole, clotrimazole, butoconazole, miconazole, econazole, itraconazole	Inhibit ergosterol biosynthesis, reducing membrane integrity, resulting in cell lysis and death	(Maertens 2004; de Oliveira Santos et al. 2018; Scorzoni et al. 2021)
Echinocandins	Caspofungin, anidulafungin, micafungin	Inhibit β-(1,3)-D-glucan synthase, blocking β-(1,3)-D-glucan synthesis, a key fungal cell wall component, causing cell lysis and death	Death (Salazar et al. 2020; Mroczyńska and Brillowska-Dąbrowska 2020; Szymański et al. 2022)
5-Flucytosine	5-Fluorocytosine	Enters fungal cells via cytosine permeases and is converted to 5-fluorouracil, inhibiting RNA and DNA synthesis, leading to cell death	(Salazar et al. 2020; Wall and Lopez-Ribot 2020)

Unfortunately, none of these conventional antifungal drugs has the optimum profile, as all of them are associated with some limitations