The College of Education for Pure Sciences Discusses a Doctoral Dissertation on: Molecular Diagnosis and Characterization of Candida Species and Their Response to a Green Nanoparticle Extract.
The Department of Biology at the College of Education for Pure Sciences, University of Kerbala, discussed a doctoral dissertation entitled: “Molecular Diagnosis and Characterization of Candida Species and Their Response to a Green Nanoparticle Extract.”
The dissertation was presented by student Wafaa Sadiq Hussein Mohammed Al-Nasrawi, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ban Taha Mohammed (first supervisor) and Dr. Adnan Abdul Jalil Lahouf (second supervisor).
The study aimed to identify the Candida species causing oral candidiasis in children and the elderly, and to develop environmentally friendly nano-extracts to inhibit Candida growth in the mouths of immunocompromised individuals or those with incomplete immune systems, using nano-transformation methods to limit Candida growth.
The study concluded that different types of Candida were isolated from the mouths of children and the elderly, with greater diversity in the elderly group, although Candida albicans remained the dominant species in both groups. Some isolates from the children’s group showed general sensitivity to most tested antibiotics, while phenotypic variation was observed among isolates of the same species. For example, some isolates exhibited resistance to capsulugen, amphotericin B, and flucytosin.
The study recommended expanding similar research to other fungi in cases of oral candidiasis to reduce their virulence. It also recommended investigating the genes responsible for antibiotic resistance in other Candida species, studying and analyzing the whole genome of other Candida species to determine their genetic characteristics, and isolating the active compounds from the harmal plant and testing their effectiveness against Candida and other pathogens.
