Le phénomène de biofouling affecte toute surface immergée dans un milieu aqueux, le recouvrant par un biofilm que ce soit dans le milieu médical ou marin. Afin de lutter contre ce phénomène, lors de ce travail, des matériaux biosourcés à base d’alginate ont été élaborés. Pour des applications dans le milieu médical, des films d’hydrogel de surface lisse ou poreuse et des films déposés sur acier par électrophorèse ont été élaborés. La présence de cuivre et zinc sous leur forme ionique Cu2+ et Zn2+ a été démontrée. Tous les films à base de cuivre et de zinc ont montré des propriétés antibactériennes contre des souches de bactéries pathogènes. Des volumes d’hydrogel d’alginate à base de calcium, cuivre et zinc ont été aussi élaborés pour des applications dans le monde marin. La stabilité des différents matériaux a été étudiée dans différents milieux et à différentes températures. La propriété antimicrobienne de ces hydrogels a été démontrée sur deux souches de microalgues ainsi que sur quatre souches de bactéries marines sans toxicité. Finalement, le retardement de la formation de biofilms sur la surface d’acier inoxydable a été étudié par la méthode d’OCP en présence de matériaux à base de zinc. / Biofouling is a phenomenon that affects every surface that is immersed in an aquatic medium covering it by a biofilm either in the medical or marine field. In order to prevent this phenomenon, in this work, biosourced alginate materials were elaborated. For applications in the medical field, hydrogel films of smooth or porous surface and films coating stainless steel by electrophoresis were elaborated. The presence of copper and zinc in their ionic form Cu2+ and Zn2+ was demonstrated.All the copper and zinc based films showed antibacterial properties on pathogenic bacterial strains.Alginate hydrogels in bulk based on calcium, copper and zinc were also elaborated for applications in the marine field. Stability of the different materials was studied in different mediums and at different temperatures. The antimicrobial property of these hydrogels based on copper and zinc was demonstrated on two microalgae stains as well as on four marine bacteria strains with no sign of toxicity. Finally, the delay in the formation of biofilms on stainless steel surfaces was studied by the OCP method in the presence of zinc based materials.

Orientador: Ary Fernandes Júnior / Resumo: A busca por novos fármacos é uma constante, especialmente para aqueles obtidos a partir de produtos naturais, que apresentem melhor eficácia e vários efeitos terapêuticos. A própolis e o veneno (apitoxina) da abelha Apis mellifera, além da melitina, uma fração da apitoxina, possuem ação antimicrobiana reportada na literatura. As ações antibacterianas do extrato hidroalcoólico de própolis (EHP), de apitoxinas obtidas das abelhas Apis mellifera submetidas a floras apícolas diferentes (Api 1 - flora apícola silvestre, Api 2 - flora apícola de eucalipto, Api 3 - flora apícola de laranjeira, Api 4 - flora apícola silvestre associada com alimentação artificial) e de melitina foram testadas sobre isolados clínicos de Staphylococcus aureus resistentes à meticilina (MRSA) utilizando metodologia da microdiluição (Resazurin Microtiter Assay Plate – REMA) para obtenção dos respectivos valores de concentração inibitória mínima (CIM) e concentração bactericida mínima (CBM). Ensaios também foram realizados para verificação de sinergismo entre o EHP, as diferentes apitoxinas e a melitina em combinação com a oxacilina sobre uma linhagem de MRSA ATCC e um isolado clínico de MRSA utilizando metodologia da curva de sobrevivência (time kill curve). Foram realizados ensaios inéditos objetivando verificar também se a Api 1 e melitina inibem a produção de enterotoxinas sobre cepas ATCC de S. aureus SEA, SEB, SEC, SED e se inibem a produção de biofilme sobre a cepa ATCC de S. aureus. A microscopia el... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Mestre

Objetivo: Evaluar el efecto antibacteriano del extracto metanólico de Moringa oleifera (Moringa) combinado con Hidróxido de calcio sobre cepas de Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC29212). Materiales y métodos: Se preparó extractos metanólicos de tallos, hojas y tallos más hojas de Moringa oleifera, los cuales fueron combinados con Hidróxido de calcio en igual proporción. Posteriormente se procedió a evaluar el efecto antibacteriano de los extractos en presencia y ausencia del Hidróxido de calcio contra la cepa bacteriana de Enterococcus faecalis utilizando el método de Kirby-Bauer y el recuento de Unidades Formadoras de Colonias (UFC). Resultados: Se observó que al comparar el Hidróxido de calcio con los extractos metanólicos de Moringa oleifera en presencia y ausencia del Hidróxido de calcio se demuestra que, el Hidróxido de calcio por si solo tiene alto efecto antibacteriano a diferencia de las diversas combinaciones. Conclusiones: La importancia de este estudio fue evaluar si el extracto metanólico de Moringa oleifera repotencia el efecto antibacteriano del Hidróxido de calcio. Los resultados muestran que los diferentes extractos metanólicos de Moringa oleifera no tienen la capacidad de repotenciar al Hidróxido de calcio. / Objective: Evaluate the antibacterial effect of the methanolic extract of Moringa oleifera (Moringa) combined with calcium hydroxide on strains of Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC29212). Materials and methods: Methanolic extracts of stems, leaves and stems plus Moringa oleifera leaves were prepared, which were combined with calcium hydroxide in equal proportion. Subsequently, the antibacterial effect of the extracts in the presence and absence of calcium hydroxide against the bacterial strain of Enterococcus faecalis was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer method and the count of Colony Forming Units (CFU). Results: It was observed that when comparing calcium hydroxide with the methanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera in the presence and absence of calcium hydroxide, it is shown that calcium hydroxide alone has a high antibacterial effect unlike the various combinations. Conclusions: The importance of this study was to evaluate if the methanolic extract of Moringa oleifera enhances the antibacterial effect of calcium hydroxide. The results show that different methanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera do not have the capacity to repower the calcium hydroxide. / Tesis

Many diseases are caused due to abnormalities in production of specific protein. Across this protein the conventional lock and key mechanism shows binding at the specific cites of protein. However use of antisense technology can prevent formation of protein. It does so by binding to mRNA and prevents transcription. The structural modifications lead to synthetic molecules with 18-mer units which show significant improvement in binding properties, this gives birth to a new class of oligomers called Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA). We herein report cysteine based PNA called CPNA.

Traditional bacterial disease therapies utilize compounds that ultimately kill the target bacteria but it exerts a strong selective pressure on the bacteria to develop multi-drug resistance mutants. The increasing occurrence of resistance in common pathogens has highlighted the need to identify new anti-microbials that target the control of bacterial pathogenicity in a non-extermination manner to reduce the incidence of bacteria resistance. One new strategy exploits the discrete signaling molecules that regulate the various bacterial signaling pathways, which are responsible for the expression of pathogenicity traits. Halogenated furanones (fimbrolides) from the marine red alga, Delisea pulchra have been shown to interfere with the key signaling pathway present in Gram-negative bacteria by competitively displacing the cognate signaling molecule from the transcription protein. This project focused on the design and synthesis of 1,5-dihydropyrrol-2-ones, a new class of fimbrolide derivatives capable of displaying strong antagonistic properties of the fimbrolides. Primary synthetic methodologies examined include the halolactamization of allenamides and the direct lactone-lactam transformation. No doubt, both methodologies yielded the lactam ring, the former failed to introduce the crucial C-5 bromomethylene group essential for bioactivity. A facile high yielding two-step lactone-lactam transformation method was developed and using this method, a wide range of substituted 5-bromomethyl- and 5-dibromomethylene-1,5-dihydropyrrol-2-ones were synthesized. Furthermore, a new class of tricyclic crown-ether type compounds with no literature precedent were discovered. To vary the diversity of the compounds, a related class of compounds, 5,6-dihydroindol-2-ones, were examined. A general versatile method for the synthesis of 7-substituted 5,6-dihydroindol-2-ones was developed. The synthetic strategy proceeds via the established Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of halogenated dihydroindol-2-ones with arylboronic acids/esters. The Suzuki methodology was found to be reliable in furnishing a wide range of 7-substituted products in high yields. A preliminary molecular modeling approach was used to assist in the design of new anti-microbials via the ligand-docking analyses of the TraR and LasR protein. A positive correlation was observed between the docking scores and biological activity and the methodology was further developed into an initial screening tool to filter potential active and non-active compounds. The newly synthesized compounds were analysed for their efficacy in reducing the expression of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in the presence of natural AHL signaling molecules in an AHL-monitor strain, indicative of the inhibition of bacterial phenotype expression. The dihydropyrrol-2-one class of compounds showed significant biological activity and this highlighted their potential for further development.

The pharmacokinetics of two antimicrobials were investigated in alpacas. Six healthy alpacas were each administered a single dose of 10 mg/kg of oxytetracycline by IV injection and IM injection. In addition, a single dose of 20 mg/kg of florfenicol by IV administration was given to alpacas in a separate study. The pharmacokinetic parameters of oxytetracycline and florfenicol in alpacas were compared to the results previously obtained in llamas. There were significant differences between llamas and alpacas in several of oxytetracycline pharmacokinetic parameters but there were no significant differences in all of florfenicol pharmacokinetic parameters in these two animals. It can be concluded that llamas and alpacas have different oxytetracycline disposition kinetics while they have similar disposition kinetics of florfenicol. The pharmacokinetics of clorsulon, a narrow-spectrum anthelmintic agent, was investigated in llamas following oral administration at a single dose of 14 mg/kg. The plasma levels of clorsulon produced by this dose was lower than the values reported in the clorsulon pharmacokinetic studies carried out in sheep and goats following oral administration at a single dose of 7 mg/kg This suggests the entire dose of clorsulon is not absorbed in llamas. Since the differential equations describing one-compartment system with first-order input and two-compartment system after IV administration with nonlinear elimination kinetics cannot be solved, there is no mathematical expression for the AUC for drugs following these models. The AUC values calculated from the proposed preliminary AUC equations for drugs following these models were compared to the AUC calculated using the trapezoidal rule method based on computer-generated data using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Except for a few exceptions, the predicted AUC from the proposed equations matched the values calculated from the theoretically generated data. / Graduation date: 2004

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Water supply services in urban and rural areas of Tanzania were reviewed and specific studies were carried out on water supply and on purification of turbid water sources using locally available plant materials in rural villages of Singida Rural District. The review showed that large proportions of urban and rural populations in Tanzania face acute water supply problems mainly due to poor planning, implementation and management of water supply projects, including an inability to address social, technical, operation and maintenance and financial issues. Laboratory-scale experiments studied the effectiveness of crude seed extracts (CSEs) and purified proteins of Vigna unguiculata (VUP), Parkinsonia aculeata (PAP) and Voandzeia subterranea (VS) seeds, which are used traditionally for clarification of turbid water. The VUP and PAP were purified from CSEs using simple and straightforward two-step ion exchange chromatography. The coagulant proteins are thermoresistant and have a wide pH range for coagulation activity. Coagulation of turbid waters with CSEs, VUP and PAP produced low sludge volumes and removed turbidity along with other inorganic contaminants in line with Tanzania drinking water quality standards. The PAP also showed antimicrobial effect against river water bacteria. Citrus fruit juice (CF) enhanced the coagulation of turbid water by CSEs and inhibited bacterial growth, rendering it useful for disinfection of water prior to drinking in rural areas. It was concluded that natural coagulants should not be regarded as a panacea for rural water supply problems, but rather a tool in the development of sustainable water supply services in Tanzania. / QC 20100825

Protein translocation is essential for bacterial survival and the most important translocation mechanism in bacteria is the secretion (Sec) pathway. Thus targeting Sec pathway is a promising strategy for developing novel antibacterial therapeutics. We report the design, syntheses, mechanistic studies and structure-activity relationship studies using HQSAR and 3-D QSAR Topomer CoMFA analyses of 4-oxo-5-cyano thiouracil derivatives. In summary, introduction of polar group such as –N3 and linker groups such as –CH2-O- enhanced the potency as well as logP and logS several fold. We also report the discovery, optimization and structure-activity relationship study of 1,2,4-triazole containing pyrimidines as novel, highly potent antimicrobial agents. A number of inhibitors have been found to inhibit microbial growth at high nanomolar concentrations.

Hemocytes are important as storage and producers of proteins of the innate immune defence, as well as actors of the cellular immune response. Therefore the hematopoietic process is critical for survival of most invertebrates. In order to search for molecules of importance for hemocyte development in crayfish we investigated proteins in crayfish plasma, which were increased after microbial challenge. As a result we were able to identify, purify and characterize a new invertebrate cytokine named astakine, and could clearly show that this protein is important for hematopoietic development in vivo as well as in an in vitro cell culture system. Astakine contains a prokineticin (PK) domain shown for the first time in an invertebrate, however, unlike the vertebrate PKs, astakine binds to a cell surface F1 ATP synthase β subunit located on the hematopoietic tissue (hpt) cell membranes. Extracellular ATP synthases as receptors have earlier been reported in different vertebrate cells and here we show that extracellular ATP synthase β subunit acts as a receptor for an invertebrate cytokine and is involved in hematopoiesis. We also found two other groups of proteins, which were increased in plasma after microbial challenge and they were further characterized. A great number of different Kazal type proteinase inhibitors were produced by the hemocytes and this type of proteinase inhibitors have variable reactive sites determining the specificity of their inhibition. In crayfish Kazal inhibitors with similar reactive sites were found as a response to specific microorganisms suggesting that the crayfish Kazal proteinase inhibitors may provide enough variability to participate in diverse innate immune reactions against different pathogens. Antimicrobial peptides were synthesized by the hemocytes and were likewise released in high amount upon microbial infection and we have characterized the main group of cystein-rich crustin-like antimicrobial peptides and investigated their tissue distribution and expression pattern.