MICROBIOLOGY AND APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY M - Z

Academic Year 2021/2022 - 1° Year
Teaching Staff: Daria NICOLOSI and Guido Scalia
Credit Value: 10
Scientific field: MED/07 - Microbiology and clinical microbiology
Taught classes: 70 hours
Term / Semester:

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the different types of relationship that micro-organisms and human parasites determine with the host, differentiating the phenomenon "infection" from the "disease".
  • Analyze critical factors that determine the "contagion" and the spread of microorganisms and parasites correlating them with their unique biological characteristics.
  • Classify the micro-organisms and parasites in the various stages of aggregation of living matter (metazoans, prokaryotes, fungi, viruses), correlating the degree of organization with the pathogenic action.
  • According to the structural organization of micro-organisms and parasites, identify the necessary facilities / functions to perform the metabolic processes and replication and to determine the infection / disease in the host.
  • Correlate the phenomenon of variation and mutation of microorganisms and parasites with the pathogenic action and resistance to antimicrobial substances.
  • Assess the degree of resistance (survival) in the environment of microorganisms and parasites as a critical factor for the host infection.
  • Knowing the levels of prevention and protection of the production of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.
  • Know the basic principles of self-testing: Sterility, Disinfection, HACCP etc.

Course Structure

Traditional lessons (unless otherwise specified due to the Covid emergency)


Detailed Course Content

The prokaryotic cell

  • The organization of the bacterial cell
  • The capsule
  • The outer membrane and peptidoglycan
  • The cytoplasmic membrane
  • The pili
  • Flagella and bacterial movement
  • The cytoplasmic organelles
  • The membrane transport and secretion systems
  • Bacterial nucleoid

 

The bacterial genetics and cell growth

  • The notion of genetic information transfer in prokaryotes
  • Recombination from eukaryotes to prokaryotes
  • Plasmids
  • Conjugation
  • Transformation
  • Transduction
  • Mutations

 

Bacterial metabolism

  • Bacterial nutrition and nutritional classification of bacteria
  • The glycolytic pathways
  • Bacterial respiration
  • The fermentative pathways
  • Features of autotrophic metabolism
  • Culture media and their classification
  • Peptidoglycan synthesis
  • Protein synthesis
  • DNA synthesis

 

Cell growth and differentiation

  • The cell cycle
  • The bacterial division
  • Vital not cultivable status
  • The microbial biofilms
  • The spore and spore-forming bacteria

 

Host-parasite relationships

  • Biological associations
  • Human microbiota
  • Infection sources
  • Diseases contagion
  • The host response to infection
  • Vaccines

 

Principles of microbiological diagnostic and susceptibility testing

  • The epidemiology of infectious diseases: general concepts
  • Recognition of an infectious disease within a population
  • Clinical and diagnostic methods
  • Identification of pathogens
  • Susceptibility to antibiotics (susceptibility testing)

 

Special Bacteriology

Taxonomic classification, main characteristics, pathogenicity, infectious diseases, prevention opportunities, diagnostics and chemotherapy of: Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Neisseria, Mycobacterium, Corynebacterium, Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Clostridium, Enterobacteriaceae, Haemophilus, Vibrio, Legionella, Brucella, Bordetella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Helicobacter, Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma, Chlamydiaceae, Rickettsiales, Spirochetales.

 

The principles of antimicrobial chemotherapy

The main antibiotics: mechanism of action and resistance

 

Fungi, Protozoa and Helminths

Fungi:

  • Characteristics of fungi and their metabolism
  • The role of fungi in the environment and industry
  • Important fungi from the health point of view
  • The main antifungal

Protozoa:

  • Characteristics of Protozoa
  • The important protozoa from the health point of view
  • The main anti-protozoal drugs

Helminths:

  • Characteristics of Helminths
  • Flatworms: Flukes and Tapeworms
  • Nematodes
  • The main anti-helmintic drug

 

Viruses and sub- viral structures

  • The organization of the viral particle
  • Viral symmetry
  • Replicative classes
  • Prions
  • The bacteriophages
  • The antiviral chemotherapy: major agents

 

Special virology

Taxonomic classification, main characteristics, pathogenicity, infectious diseases, prevention opportunities, diagnostics and chemotherapy of: Poxviridae, Herpesviridae, Adenoviridae, Papillomavirus e Polyomavirus umani, Parvoviridae, Paramyxoviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Picornaviridae, Arenaviridae,Coronaviridae, Filoviridae, Flaviridae, human retrovirus, Togaviridae, Rhabdoviridae, e Rubivirus, hepatitis (HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV,HEV, HGV)

 

Infection control: sterilization and disinfection

  • Sterilization, disinfection and antisepsis
  • Physical sterilization methods (heat, radiations, filtration)
  • Chemical sterilization methods (alkylating agents, oxidizing agents)
  • Sterility controls (physical indicators, chemical indicators, biological indicators)
  • Sterilization applications in the pharmaceutical field and its limits
  • Parenteral products
  • Products non-parenteral
  • Objectives and implementation of the disinfection methods
  • Targets and mechanisms of action of disinfectants (phenol derivatives, biguanide, surfactant compounds, aldehydes, halogens, alcohols, oxidizing agents)
  • Methods for assessing the efficacy of disinfectants

.

Pharmaceutical production and pharmacopeia

  • Assessment of pharmaceuticals contamination
  • Essay of sterility
  • Evaluation of microbial contamination of non-sterile products

Pyrogens and bacterial endotoxins:

  • Assay for pyrogens
  • Assays for bacterial endotoxins (LAL test)

Microbiological assay:

  • Biological assay of antibiotics
  • Interferon dosing
  • Control the activity of disinfectants

Microbiological characteristics of pharmaceutical products:

  • Obligatorily sterile pharmaceutical preparations
  • Pharmaceutical preparation does not necessarily sterile

Sterilization of pharmaceutical products:

  • Sterilization methods applicable to pharmaceutical products
  • Biological sterilization indicators
  • Use of antimicrobial preservatives in pharmaceutical preparations

Good manufacturing practice for preparation of medicines:

  • Characteristics of the environment
  • Staff
  • Raw material
  • Preparation of medicines in Pharmacy

 

Food microbiology

  • Meaning of microorganisms in food
  • Unfermented foods (meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, vegetables and fruit)
  • Fermented foods (fermented vegetables, bread, cheese, fermented milk, fermented meat products)

HACCP system:

  • Description of the HACCP system: preliminary phases of the application system
  • Main features of HACCP system: principles 1 to 7

Textbook Information

Microbiologia Farmaceutica II ed, Edises

or

Principi di Microbiologia Medica III ed, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana

 

The student is free to choose another textbook.