Courses

The Department participates in preparing the undergraduate students (General and Clinical Programmes) at the Faculty of Pharmacy to the labor market through different courses:

Basic Microbiology and Immunology
Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, nomenclature of microorganisms, structure and form of the bacterial cells, spores, mycoplasma or PPLO, actinomyces, Rickettsia, viruses, eukaryotic microorganisms (fungi), bacterial genetics, molecular genetics, physiology of microorganisms, the growth curve, microbial metabolism.

Immunology: Host parasite relationship, non-specific and specific immunity, mechanism of protective immunity, hypersensitivity and in vitro antigen-antibody reactions, auto immunity and auto-immune disease, immune deficiency disorders, transplantation immunology, cancer immunology, immunological tolerance.

Clinical Microbiology
Topic covered include:
Bacteriology: Gram-positive bacteria, the mycobacterium group, Gram-negative bacteria, Chlamydia and Rickttsia.
Mycology: Ringworm, Moniliasis, Maduromycosis and Sporotrichosis.
Virology: RNA viruses and DNA viruses. 

Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Introduction, biology of industrial microorganisms, biophysical and biochemical processes, introduction to tissue culture and genetic engineering techniques. Techniques for the improvement of the economically important plants and animals and for the development of microorganisms to act on the environment. Manipulation of living organisms, specially at the molecular genetic level, to produce new products such as hormones, vaccines or monoclonal antibodies, production of pharmaceuticals by microorganisms, gene therapy.

Pharmaceutical Microbiology
Sterilization, sterilization indicators, sterility testing, microbial contamination of pharmaceutical products, aseptic area, the microbiological quality of pharmaceuticals. Antimicrobial agents: classification, mechanism of action of antimicrobial drugs, drug combination, resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents, assessment of a new antibiotic, microbiological assay of antibiotics, microbiological assay of vitamins, amino acids and growth factor, mode of action of non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents. Chemical disinfectants, antiseptics and preservatives.

Antimicrobial Agents
Factors affecting choice of antimicrobial agents, types of antimicrobial compounds, types of antibiotics and synthetic antimicrobial agents, clinical uses of antimicrobial drugs, manufacturing of antibiotics and other synthetic antimicrobial agents, principle methods of assaying antibiotics, mechanism of action of antibiotics, bacterial resistance.

Cell Biology
The cell theory, membranous organelles, non-membranous organelles, the cell inclusions, the nucleus, cell growth and proliferation, apoptosis, apoptosis and cancer, apoptosis and AIDS, apoptosis and organ transplants, cellular aging.

Parasitology
Introduction, protozoology, amoebae, ciliate, flagellates, blood and tissue sporozoa. Medical helminthology, nematodes, cestodes, trematodes, and arthropods.

Pathophysiology
Introduction to pathophysiology, cell injury, inflammation and immune response, autonomic nervous system in health and disease, endocrine disorders, pancreatic disorders, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, vascular and hematological disorders, disease of urinary, pulmonary and digestive systems.

Public Health
Introduction, epidemiology, communicable and non-communicable diseases, control of communicable diseases, immunization, infections, occupational medicine, environmental health, water-borne and food-borne diseases, milk-born diseases, nutrition and family health, environmental pollution, waste water treatment, waste disposal. General Microbiology and Medical Microbiology.