Andréa Cristina Barbosa da Silva

Detection of oral streptococci in dental biofilm from caries-active and caries-free children

This work correlated the presence of oral streptococci in dental biofilm with clinical indexes of caries and oral hygiene in caries-active and caries-free children. S. mutans and/or S. sobrinus in the dental biofilm does not indicate a direct risk for developing dental caries.

Microbial Dynamics and Caries: The Role of Antimicrobials

The advancement of technology through the application of molecular techniques for identification and analysis of complex bacterial communities have demonstrated the diversity of the oral microbiota and the presence of numerous strains not previously described. Dental plaque is formed by the initial adhesion of pioneer bacterial species to film acquired from enamel, followed by secondary co-aggregation of these bacteria to other microorganisms of different genera and species. This mature dental plaque has some characteristics of multicellular organisms, such as cooperation mechanisms to obtain nutrients, resistance to environmental and communication stresses in order to regulate their growth (Marsh and Martin, 2009).

Prevalência de erosão dentária e fatores associados em uma população de escolares

SANTANA, Nubia Maria Santos de. Prevalencia de erosao dentaria e fatores associados em uma populacao de escolares. 2016. 31 p. Trabalho de conclusao de curso (Graduacao em Odontologia)- Universidade Estadual da Paraiba, Araruna, 2016.

In silico approaches for screening molecular targets in Candida albicans: A proteomic insight into drug discovery and development

Candida species are opportunistic pathogens which can cause conditions ranging from simple mucocutaneous infections to fungemia and death in immunosuppressed and hospitalized patients. Candida albicans is considered to be the species mostly associated with fungal infections in humans and, therefore, the mostly studied yeast. This microorganism has survival and virulence factors which, allied to a decreased host immunity response, make infection more difficult to control. Today, the current limited antifungal arsenal and a dramatic increase in fungal resistance have driven the need for the synthesis of drugs with novel mechanisms of action. However, the development of a new drug from discovery to marketing takes a long time and is highly costly. The objective of this review is to show that with advances in biotechnology and biofinformatics, in silico tools such as molecular docking can optimize such a timeline and reduce costs, while contributing to the design and development of targeted drugs. Here we highlight the most promising protein targets in Candida albicans for the development of drugs with new mechanisms of action.