Environmentally Friendly Strategies for Formulating Vegetable Oil-Based Nanoparticles for Anticancer Medicine.

The development of green synthesized polymeric nanoparticles with anticancer studies has been an emerging field in academia and the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Vegetable oils are potential substitutes for petroleum derivatives, as they present a clean and environmentally friendly alternative and are available in abundance at relatively low prices. Biomass-derived chemicals can be converted into monomers with a unique structure, generating materials with new properties for the synthesis of sustainable monomers and polymers. The production of bio-based polymeric nanoparticles is a promising application of green chemistry for biomedical uses. There is an increasing demand for biocompatible and biodegradable materials for specific applications in the biomedical area, such as cancer therapy. This is encouraging scientists to work on research toward designing polymers with enhanced properties and clean processes, containing oncology active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The nanoencapsulation of these APIs in bio-based polymeric nanoparticles can control the release of the substances, increase bioavailability, reduce problems of volatility and degradation, reduce side effects, and increase treatment efficiency. This review discusses the use of green chemistry for bio-based nanoparticle production and its application in anticancer medicine. The use of castor oil for the production of renewable monomers and polymers is proposed as an ideal candidate for such applications, as well as more suitable methods for the production of bio-based nanoparticles and some oncology APIs available for anticancer application.

Estruturação das informações sobre intoxicações agudas por agrotóxicos no estado da Bahia, utilizando o Caderno de Monitoramento e Avaliação da Atenção Básica ­ CAMAB / Structuring information on acute poisoning by pesticides in the state of Bahia using the primary care monitoring and evaluation booklet / Estructuración de información sobre intoxicaciones agudas por plaguicidas en el estado de bahía (brasil) utilizando el Cuaderno de Evaluación y Seguimiento de Atención Primaria ­ CAMAB

A partir de 2008, o Brasil tornou-se o maior consumidor de agrotóxicos do mundo, mantendo-se nessa posição desde essa época. A Bahia, por sua vez, situou-se, em 2014, como o oitavo estado brasileiro de maior comercialização de agrotóxicos e o primeiro da região Nordeste. Nesse contexto, não surpreende que o agrotóxico seja a terceira maior causa de intoxicação no país e no estado. Apesar da gravidade da situação, a Bahia tem poucas informações sistematizadas sobre agrotóxicos. Os conhecimentos existentes encontram-se dispersos em diversas áreas do setor da saúde e em outros setores. Nesse sentido, este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar uma ferramenta que disponibiliza informações estruturadas e de fácil acesso aos profissionais de saúde, gestores e comunidade, possibilitando a eles o conhecimento sobre a distribuição dos casos de intoxicação aguda por agrotóxico por macrorregiões, regiões de saúde e municípios. Trata-se do Caderno de Avaliação e Monitoramento da Atenção Básica (Camab), elaborado pela Coordenação de Avaliação e Monitoramento (Coam) da Diretoria de Atenção Básica (DAB) e divulgado no site da Secretaria de Saúde do Estado da Bahia. A elaboração do Camab foi uma estratégia importante para dar maior visibilidade às questões relacionadas aos agrotóxicos no âmbito da DAB e, consequentemente, nos municípios por ela apoiados. Por fim, acredita-se que o acesso a informações em tempo hábil contribui para o fortalecimento da vigilância e o desenvolvimento das ações de promoção da saúde e prevenção de agravos junto às populações expostas ao potencial risco de intoxicação por agrotóxicos.

From 2008 onwards, Brazil became the world's largest consumer of pesticides. Moreover, Bahia was ranked the eighth Brazilian state with the largest pesticide commercialization in 2014 and the first in the Northeast Region ­ so that, not surprisingly, pesticides are the third leading cause of poisoning in the country and state. Despite the severity of the situation, information on pesticides are little systematized in Bahia, and the available information is dispersed across different health sectors as well as in other fields. This study aims to present a tool that provides structured and easily accessible information on cases of acute pesticide poisoning by macro-regions, health regions, and municipalities to health professionals, managers, and the overall community: the Primary Care Monitoring and Evaluation Booklet (CAMAB). Prepared by the Monitoring and Evaluation Coordination (COAM) of the Primary Care Board (DAB) and published on the website of the Health Department of the State of Bahia, the CAMAB was an important strategy to give greater visibility to pesticide-related issues within the scope of DAB and municipalities supported by it. Timely access to information contributes to the strengthening of surveillance and the development of actions aimed at promoting health and preventing diseases together with populations exposed to the potential risk of poisoning by pesticides.

Desde 2008, Brasil se convirtió en el mayor consumidor de plaguicidas del mundo y ha mantenido esta posición. El estado brasileño de Bahía, en 2014, se ubicó en el octavo puesto con mayor comercialización de plaguicidas y en el primer de la región Nordeste. En este contexto, no es de extrañar que los plaguicidas sean la tercera causa principal de intoxicación en el país y el estado. A pesar de la gravedad de la situación, existe poca información sistematizada sobre plaguicidas en Bahía. Los datos existentes están dispersos en varias áreas del sector salud y en otros sectores. En este sentido, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo presentar una herramienta que brinde información estructurada y de fácil acceso a los profesionales de la salud, los gestores y la comunidad, que les permita conocer la distribución de los casos de intoxicación aguda por plaguicidas por macrorregiones, regiones sanitarias y municipios. Se trata del Cuaderno de Evaluación y Seguimiento de Atención Primaria (Camab), elaborado por la Coordinación de Evaluación y Seguimiento (Coam) de la Junta de Atención Primaria (DAB) y publicado en la página web de la Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Bahía. La elaboración del Camab fue una estrategia importante para dar mayor visibilidad a los temas relacionados con plaguicidas en el ámbito de la DAB y, en consecuencia, en los municipios apoyados por la misma. Finalmente, el acceso oportuno a la información debe de contribuir al fortalecimiento de la vigilancia y al desarrollo de acciones de promoción de la salud y prevención de enfermedades junto con las poblaciones expuestas al riesgo potencial de intoxicación por plaguicidas.

Opioid-based micro and nanoparticulate formulations: alternative approach on pain management.

CONTEXT: Opioids have been used as the reference treatment on chronic pain. However, they are related to serious adverse effects which affect the patient compliance to treatment, as well as, his quality of life. Particulate formulations have been investigated as an alternative to improve opioid efficacy and safety. OBJECTIVE: Summarise the available studies concerning micro and nanoencapsulated opioid formulations discussing their biopharmaceutical characteristics, such as composition, size, in vitro release, pharmacokinetic and antinociceptive profile. METHODS: Papers available in 1995-2015 at Medline, Science Direct and Web of Science databases were collected and assessed. Searches were performed using varied combinations of the keywords of this work. RESULTS: Opioid-loaded particles showed prolonged drug release with maintenance of serum therapeutic concentrations and extended analgesia when compared with the free drugs. The side effects incidences were reduced or maintained the same. CONCLUSION: Particulate formulations can significantly increase both potency and safety profiles of opioids.

Use of polyhydroxybutyrate and ethyl cellulose for coating of urea granules.

Fertilizers contain essential nutrients for agricultural growth and development. However, most nitrogen fertilizers are substances with high solubility of ions and are very susceptible to leaching and volatilization. To minimize these losses, an alternative is the creation of a physical barrier around granules. One way is to coat granules with polymers. In the present work urea granules were coated with polyhydroxybutyrate and ethyl cellulose in various conditions in the presence of emulsifiers. The original granules and the final products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry, to evaluate the surface morphology, the interaction between the granules and the coating, and the rates of mass change. The rates of urea release in distilled water were measured with a commercial enzyme kit. It is shown that those polymers are effective for coating of granules, leading to reduction of rates of urea dissolution in water.

Characteristics of lipid micro- and nanoparticles based on supercritical formation for potential pharmaceutical application.

The interest of the pharmaceutical industry in lipid drug delivery systems due to their prolonged release profile, biocompatibility, reduction of side effects, and so on is already known. However, conventional methods of preparation of these structures for their use and production in the pharmaceutical industry are difficult since these methods are usually multi-step and involve high amount of organic solvent. Furthermore, some processes need extreme conditions, which can lead to an increase of heterogeneity of particle size and degradation of the drug. An alternative for drug delivery system production is the utilization of supercritical fluid technique. Lipid particles produced by supercritical fluid have shown different physicochemical properties in comparison to lipid particles produced by classical methods. Such particles have shown more physical stability and narrower size distribution. So, in this paper, a critical overview of supercritical fluid-based processes for the production of lipid micro- and nanoparticles is given and the most important characteristics of each process are highlighted.