MICROBIOLOGIA FARMACEUTICA G - O

• Classifying microorganisms and identifying the structures and/or tasks they need to perform to carry out metabolic functions, reproduce, and cause an infection.
• Identifying the different microorganism-host relationships, distinguishing useful associations from potentially detrimental ones.
• Examining the key factors that enable the spread of microbes, linking them to the biological traits and to the level of environmental resistance.
• Correlating the occurrence of mutations and the transfer of genetic material to pathogenic activity and resistance to antimicrobial drugs.
• Mastering the good manufacturing practices and guidelines for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

Knowledge of cell biology

Mandatory

The prokaryotic cell

• Size, shape, and states of aggregation
• Fundamental components (nucleoid, cytoplasmic membrane, cell wall)
• Accessory structures (capsule and glycocalyx, pili and fimbriae, flagella)

Bacterial genetics

• Chromosome and plasmids
• Mutations
• Recombination (transformation, transduction and conjugation)

Bacterial metabolism

• Energy sources for microbes
• Respiration and fermentation pathways
• Types and classification of culture media

Reproduction and growth of bacteria

• Bacterial division
• Growth curve
• Survival strategies (the spore and spore-forming bacteria, microbial biofilm)

Microorganism-host relationships

• Biological associations
• Infection sources
• Diseases’ transmissibility
• The infectious process (pathogenicity, virulence factors)

Host response to infections and immunity

• Host defenses against infection (innate and adaptive immunity)
• Other defense mechanisms (inflammation and fever)
• Passive immunization (immunoglobulins and sera)
• Active immunization (vaccines)

Human microbiota

• Composition and physiology of the human microbiota
• Role of the microbiota in different body regions
• Bi-directional relationship of the microbiota with other organs (gut-brain axis)
• Dysbioses and their role in the onset of pathologies and metabolic disorders
• Probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics

Principles of bacteriological diagnosis

• Direct and indirect identification of pathogens
• Antibiotic susceptibility test (antibiogram, MIC and MBC)
• Notes on the epidemiology of infectious diseases
• Community-acquired and nosocomial-acquired infections

Sterilization and disinfection for infection prevention

• Sterilization through physical, chemical, and mechanical methods and sterility checks
• Sterilization in the pharmaceutical industry (mandatory sterile preparations, sterility checks, tests for the detection of bacterial endotoxins)
• Microbial contamination of non-sterile products assessment
• Disinfectants, antiseptics and preservatives
• Medicines’ good manufacturing rules and practices (environmental, personnel, and raw material requirements)

Antibacterial drugs

• Classification and mechanism of action of the main antibacterial drugs
• Mechanisms of resistance of bacteria to antibiotic

Systematic bacteriology

Taxonomy, features, pathogenicity, primary diseases, antibiotic- sensitivity and antibiotic-resistance of the genera Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Neisseria, Bordetella, Legionella, Brucella, Corynebacterium, Helicobacter, Mycobacterium, Vibrio, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Helicobacter, Mycoplasma, Chlamydiaceae, Rickettsiales, Spirochetales.

Viruses

• Structure, features and replicative cycles
• Pathogenesis of viral infections and damages to the host cell
• Host defenses against viral infection (interferon)
• Bacteriophages
• Prions
• Cultivation of viruses
• Mechanism of action and spectrum of activity of the main antiviral drugs

Systematic virology

Taxonomy, features, pathogenicity, primary diseases, prophylaxis and therapy of the genera Poxvirus, Herpesvirus, Adenovirus, Papillomavirus, Paramyxovirus, Togavirus, Orthomyxovirus, Rhabdovirus, Rhinovirus, Poliovirus, Coronavirus, Filovirus, Lentivirus (HIV) and major liver viruses (HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV, HEV, HGV).

Fungi

• Taxonomy, classification, morphology, and reproduction
• Classification of mycoses (superficial, cutaneous, subcutaneous, systemic, and opportunistic)
• Notes on the main fungi of medical interest
• Toxicology of fungi (mycetism and mycotoxins)
• Mechanism of action and spectrum of activity of the main antifungal drugs

Protozoa

• Taxonomy, classification, morphology, and reproduction
• Main parasitic protozoa of medical interest
• Mechanism of action and spectrum of activity of the main antiprotozoal drugs

Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases associated with climate change and globalization.

N. Carlone – R. Pompei – V. Tullio

Microbiologia Farmaceutica III edizione 

Edises Università

oppure

G. Antonelli – M. Clementi – G. Pozzi – G.M. Rossolini

Principi di Microbiologia Medica, quarta edizione

Casa Editrice Ambrosiana

The student has the option of selecting another textbook.

Oral exam

What does the bacterial cell look like?

What does a virus look like?

What are the main characteristics of prokaryotic organisms?