Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been successfully applied in several areas due to their significant antimicrobial activity against several microorganisms. In dentistry, AgNP can be applied in disinfection, prophylaxis, and prevention of infections in the oral cavity. In this work, the use of silver nanoparticles in dentistry and associated technological innovations was analyzed. The scientific literature was searched using PubMed and Scopus databases with descriptors related to the use of silver nanoparticles in dentistry, resulting in 90 open-access articles. The search for patents was restricted to the A61K code (International Patent Classification), using the same descriptors, resulting in 206 patents. The results found were ordered by dental specialties and demonstrated the incorporation of AgNPs in different areas of dentistry. In this context, the search for patents reaffirmed the growth of this technology and the dominance of the USA pharmaceutical industry over AgNPs product development. It could be concluded that nanotechnology is a promising area in dentistry with several applications.

This review gathers recent information about genomic and transcriptomic studies in the Corynebacterium genus, exploring, for example, prediction of pathogenicity islands and stress response in different pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. In addition, is described several phylogeny studies to Corynebacterium, exploring since the identification of species until biological speciation in one species belonging to the genus Corynebacterium. Important concepts associated with virulence highlighting the role of Pld protein and Tox gene. The adhesion, characteristic of virulence factor, was described using the sortase mechanism that is associated to anchorage to the cell wall. In addition, survival inside the host cell and some diseases, were too addressed for pathogenic corynebacteria, while important biochemical pathways and biotechnological applications retain the focus of this review for non-pathogenic corynebacteria. Concluding, this review broadly explores characteristics in genus Corynebacterium showing to have strong relevance inside the medical, veterinary and biotechnology field.

NetB toxin from Clostridium perfringens is a major virulence factor in necrotic enteritis in poultry. In this study the efficacy of NetB as a vaccine antigen to protect chickens from necrotic enteritis was examined. Broiler chickens were immunized subcutaneously with purified recombinant NetB (rNetB), formalin treated bacterin and cell free toxoid with or without rNetB supplementation. Intestinal lesion scores and NetB antibody levels were measured to determine protection after mild oral gavage, moderate in-feed and heavy in-feed challenges with virulent C. perfringens isolates. Birds immunized with rNetB were significantly protected against necrotic enteritis when challenged with a mild oral dose of virulent bacteria, but were not protected when a more robust challenge was used. Bacterin and cell free toxoid without rNetB supplementation did not protect birds from moderate and severe in-feed challenge. Only birds immunized with bacterin and cell free toxoid supplemented with rNetB showed significant protection against moderate and severe in-feed challenge, with the later giving the greatest protection. Higher NetB antibody titres were observed in birds immunized with rNetB compared to those vaccinated with bacterin or toxoid, suggesting that the in vitro levels of NetB produced by virulent C. perfringens isolates are too low to induce the development of a strong immune response. These results suggest that vaccination with NetB alone may not be sufficient to protect birds from necrotic enteritis in the field, but that in combination with other cellular or cell-free antigens it can significantly protect chickens from disease.