Development of a brazilian nanoencapsulated drug for schistosomiasis treatment

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that, according to the World Health Organization, constitutes a major public health problem associated with severe morbidity, mostly children in preschool age. The administration of drugs in children always constitutes a difficult task, especially when formulations are not developed specifically for pediatric use, when high doses of drug are required and the drug has a bitter taste, as in the case of praziquantel. Polymer nanoparticles are promising systems for development of encapsulated drugs with low water solubility and bitter taste, due to the good physical and chemical stability, adequate biocompatibility and simple manufacturing processes. Moreover, they can enhance the bioavailabili-ty and reduce variability of treatment among patients. Poly (methyl methacrylate) doped with praziquantel was produced through a miniemulsion polymerization pro-cess to compose a pediatric pharmaceutical suspension. Nanoparticles were cha-racterized in terms of physico-chemical properties, toxicological properties and biological activity in mice, being concluded that obtained results were satisfactory. The results were encapsulation rate around 90%, absence of chemical interaction drug - polymer and the presence of biological activity. A collaborative approach was used for this development, involving national partnerships and independent funding mechanisms, a powerful pathway for development of drugs for neglected diseases