From Amazon rain forest flora to the state-of-the-art technology devices, the incessant search for 'magic bullets' against Streptococcus mutans

bacteria (and not by host cells), it could be the ‘magic bullet’ of his dreams7. After testing over nine hundred dyes and chemical compounds, the 606 compound (latter named Salvarsan) was found to be effective against the etiological agent of syphilis; but unfortunately such compound toxicity against the host was evidenced. While the ‘606’ comprised a huge advance in the war on microbes, it became clear that search for the ‘magic bullet’ would be a long journey7.