Effect of fenbendazole nanocapsules against Echinococcus multilocularis

ARRUA, EVA CAROLINA; LUNDSTRÖM BRITTA; BASTIAT, GUILLAUME; ANDREW HEMPHILL; SALOMON, CLAUDIO JAVIER

Buenos Aires

Encuentro; VII Nanoandes 2017; 2017

The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of encapsulating fenbendazole (FNZ), a lipophilic antiparasitic agent, into lipid nanocapsules (LNC) and their efficacy against Echinococcus multilocularis. The process was carried through the phase-inversion method that allows the formulation of nanocapsules by a thermal manipulation of an oil/water system.A FNZ solution in acetone were incorporated in Labrafac and sonicated for 15 minutes. Then, this was heated to evaporate completely acetone. This phase was mixed with Lipoid®, sodium chloride, Kolliphor® and heated under magnetic stirring up to 90oC ensuring that the phase inversion temperature is passed. The cooling step was then performed until a temperature of 50oC was reached. This cycle was repeated twice before adding 5ml of distilled water at 4oC.The hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity index and zeta potential of LNC weredetermined by dynamic light scattering, each measurement was done in triplicate. It was evaluated the complement system activation in normal human serum by measuring the residual hemolytic system capacity after being in contact with LNC. In addition, in vitro tests on E. multilocularis were carried out, including phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) and Alamar Blue assays.The results showed that loaded LNC with FNZ exhibited an average size of 47nm and a polydispersity index of 0.04, which would indicate homogeneous size distribution. It was observed that activation of the complement system by loaded LNC formulation was similar to that obtained with the non-loaded LNC, which could confirm the encapsulation of the drug into the LNC core. In addition, FNZ LNC presented similar results regarding the surviving cells for 24 and 48 hours after the start. In vitro assays demonstrated the efficacy of loaded LNC against E. multilocularis, while raw FNZ is not. Thus, FNZ LNC may represent an attractive alternative for the efficient delivery of these antiparasitic agents.