Lychnopholide in Poly(d,l-Lactide)-Block-Polyethylene Glycol Nanocapsules Cures Infection with a Drug-Resistant Trypanosoma cruzi Strain at Acute and Chronic Phases.

Chagas disease remains neglected, and current chemotherapeutics present severe limitations. Lychnopholide (LYC) at low doses loaded in polymeric poly(d,l-lactide)-block-polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG) nanocapsules (LYC-PLA-PEG-NC) exhibits anti-Trypanosoma cruzi efficacy in mice infected with a partially drug-resistant strain. This study reports the efficacy of LYC-PLA-PEG-NC at higher doses in mice infected with a T. cruzi strain resistant to benznidazole (BZ) and nifurtimox (NF) treated at both the acute phase (AP) and the chronic phase (CP) of infection by the oral route. Mice infected with the T. cruzi VL-10 strain were treated by the oral route with free LYC (12 mg/kg of body weight/day), LYC-PLA-PEG-NC (8 or 12 mg/kg/day), or BZ at 100 mg/kg/day or were not treated (controls). Treatment efficacy was assessed by hemoculture (HC), PCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), heart tissue quantitative PCR (qPCR), and histopathology. According to classical cure criteria, treatment with LYC-PLA-PEG-NC at 12 mg/kg/day cured 75% (AP) and 88% (CP) of the animals, while at a dose of 8 mg/kg/day, 43% (AP) and 43% (CP) were cured, showing dose-dependent efficacy. The negative qPCR results for heart tissue and the absence of inflammation/fibrosis agreed with the negative results obtained by HC and PCR. Thus, the mice treated with the highest dose could be considered 100% cured, in spite of a low ELISA reactivity in some animals. No cure was observed in animals treated with free LYC or BZ or the controls. These results are exceptional in terms of experimental Chagas disease chemotherapy and provide evidence of the outstanding contribution of nanotechnology in mice infected with a T. cruzi strain totally resistant to BZ and NF at both phases of infection. Therefore, LYC-PLA-PEG-NC has great potential as a new treatment for Chagas disease and deserves further investigations in clinical trials.

In vivo antimalarial efficacy of acetogenins, alkaloids and flavonoids enriched fractions from Annona crassiflora Mart.

Annona crassiflora and Annonaceae plants are known to be used to treat malaria by traditional healers. In this work, the antimalarial efficacy of different fractions of A. crassiflora, particularly acetogenin, alkaloids and flavonoid-rich fractions, was determined in vivo using Plasmodium berghei-infected mice model and toxicity was accessed by brine shrimp assay. The A. crassiflora fractions were administered at doses of 12.5 mg/kg/day in a 4-day test protocol. The results showed that some fractions from woods were rich in acetogenins, alkaloids and terpenes, and other fractions from leaves were rich in alkaloids and flavonoids. The parasitaemia was significantly (p < 0.05, p < 0.001) reduced (57-75%) with flavonoid and alkaloid-rich leaf fractions, which also increased mean survival time of mice after treatment. Our results confirm the usage of this plant in folk medicine as an antimalarial remedy.

Sesquiterpene lactone in nanostructured parenteral dosage form is efficacious in experimental Chagas disease.

The drugs available for Chagas disease treatment are toxic and ineffective. We studied the in vivo activity of a new drug, lychnopholide (LYC). LYC was loaded in nanocapsules (NC), and its effects were compared to free LYC and benznidazole against Trypanosoma cruzi. Infected mice were treated in the acute phase at 2.0 mg/kg/day with free LYC, LYC-poly-ε-caprolactone NC (LYC-PCL), and LYC-poly(lactic acid)-co-polyethylene glycol NC (LYC-PLA-PEG) or at 50 mg/kg/day with benznidazole solution by the intravenous route. Animals infected with the CL strain, treated 24 h after infection for 10 days, evaluated by hemoculture, PCR, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay exhibited a 50% parasitological cure when treated with LYC-PCL NC and 100% cure when treated with benznidazole, but 100% of the animals treated during the prepatent period for 20 days with these formulations or LYC-PLA-PEG NC were cured. In animals with the Y strain treated 24 h after infection for 10 days, only mice treated by LYC-PCL NC were cured, but animals treated in the prepatent period for 20 days exhibited 100, 75, and 62.5% cure when treated with LYC-PLA-PEG NC, benznidazole, and LYC-PCL NC, respectively. Free LYC reduced the parasitemia and improved mice survival, but no mice were cured. LYC-loaded NC showed higher cure rates, reduced parasitemia, and increased survival when used in doses 2five times lower than those used for benznidazole. This study confirms that LYC is a potential new treatment for Chagas disease. Furthermore, the long-circulating property of PLA-PEG NC and its ability to improve LYC efficacy showed that this formulation is more effective in reaching the parasite in vivo.

Release profiles and morphological characterization by atomic force microscopy and photon correlation spectroscopy of 99mTechnetium-fluconazole nanocapsules.

Several classes of antifungal have been employed in candidiasis treatment, but patients with advanced immunodeficiency can present unsatisfactory results after therapy. In these cases, high doses of drugs or the use of multiple agents are sometimes used, and hence increasing the risk of serious side effects. Considering theses difficulties, the encapsulation of antifungal agents in nanoparticulate carriers has been used with the objective of modifying the pharmacokinetic of drugs resulting in more efficient treatments with less side effects. The purpose of this work was the preparation, characterization and the investigation of the release profiles of radiolabeled fluconazole nanocapsules. The size, homogeneity and zeta potential of NC preparations were determined with a Zetasizer 3000HS. The morphology and the structural organization were evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The release study in vitro of NC was evaluated in physiologic solution with or without 70% mouse plasma. The labeling yield of fluconazole with 99mTc was 94% and the radiolabeled drug was stable within 24h period. The encapsulation percentage of 99mTc-fluconazole in PLA-POLOX NC and PLA-PEG NC was approximately of 30%. The average diameter calculated by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) varied from 236 to 356 nm, while the average diameter determined by AFM varied from 238 to 411 nm. The diameter/height relation decreased significantly when 25% glutaraldehyde was used for NC fixation on mica. The zeta potential varied from -55 to -69 nm and surface-modified NC showed lower absolute values than conventional NC. The in vitro release of 99mTc-fluconazole in plasma medium of the conventional and surface-modified NC was greater than in saline. The drug release in plasma medium from conventional NC was faster than for surface-modified NC. The results obtained in this work suggest that the nanocapsules containing fluconazole could be used to identify infectious foci, due to the properties, such as size, zeta potential and controlled release of (99m)Tc-fluconazole. The surface-modified nanocapsules could constitute a long-circulating intravenous formulation of fluconazole for treating sepsis caused by disseminated form of candidiasis. However, in vivo studies should be considered and are under investigation.