Avaliação de novos compostos para desinfeção intracanalar em endodontia

Abstract

Endodontic treatment aims to optimize root canal disinfection and prevent reinfection. The predominant microorganisms in teeth treated with symptoms are Enterococcus faecalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum and from the kingdom Fungi to Candida albicans. The oceans contain many different specific habitats, requiring microorganisms to develop different adaptation mechanisms to survive. Some of these are the production of specific biomolecules and enzymes that give them antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiprotozoal, antiviral, anticancer properties... This work aims to determine whether extracts of marine fungi (Penicillium lusitanum and Aspergillus affinis extracts) during the irrigation process are effective in eliminating Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. Three concentrations of the two marine fungus extracts were prepared and tested. Production, extraction, disk diffusion and cell viability protocols were followed in order to obtain results regarding the inhibition and cell viability that these fungal strata are capable of producing in E. faecalis and C. albicans. Analysing the results, it is noticeable that the fungal extracts of P. lusitanum and A. affinis proved to be effective when used alone in inhibiting C. albicans and E. faecalis, respectively, which are encouraging results for the continuation of this investigation. With this research it was also possible to open new possible ways for the use of fungal extracts of P. lusitanum in other areas of medicine, such as in the treatment of Candidiasis.

Date of Award	22 Jul 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rita Noites (Supervisor) & Ana Sofia Duarte (Co-Supervisor)