Bifonazole is an imidazole

Imidazole

Imidazole is an organic compound with the formula C3H4N2. This aromatic heterocyclic is a diazole and is classified as an alkaloid. Imidazole refers to the parent compound, whereas imidazoles are a class of heterocycles with similar ring structure, but varying substituents...

 antifungal drug

Antifungal drug

An antifungal medication is a medication used to treat fungal infections such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis , serious systemic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis, and others...

. Bifonazole is marketed by Bayer under the trade mark CANESPOR in ointment form.

Mechanism of action

Bifonazole has dual mode of action

Mode of action

Historically, pesticides have often been classified according to their chemical groups and this is useful for understanding the properties of a given compound. However, it is the Mode of Action group which possibly represents the most useful pesticide classification for biologists...

. It blocks transformation of 24-methylendihydrolanosterol to desmethylsterol in fungi together with inhibition of HMG-CoA

HMG-CoA

HMG-CoA is an intermediate in the Mevalonate pathway. It is formed from acetyl CoA and acetoacetyl CoA by HMG-CoA synthase.HMG-CoA reductase converts it into mevalonic acid....

. This enables fungicidal properties against dermatophyte

Dermatophyte

Dermatophytes are a common label for a group of three types of fungus that commonly causes skin disease in animals and humans. These anamorphic genera are: Microsporum, Epidermophyton and Trichophyton. There are about 40 species in these three genera...

s and distinguishes befonazole from other antifungal drugs.