Nanotechnological delivery systems for the oral administration of active molecules: Polymeric microparticles and microemulsions applied to anti-inflammatory and anti-infectious drugs

This thesis was devoted to the development of innovative oral delivery systems for two different molecules. In the first part, microparticles (MPs) based on xylan and Eudragit® S- 100 were produced and used to encapsulate 5-aminosalicylic acid for colon delivery. Xylan was extracted from corn cobs and characterized in terms of its physicochemical, rheological and toxicological properties. The polymeric MPs were prepared by interfacial cross-linking polymerization and spray-drying and characterized for their morphology, mean size and distribution, thermal stability, crystallinity, entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release. MPs with suitable physical characteristics and satisfactory yields were prepared by both methods, although the spray-dried systems showed higher thermal stability. In general, spraydried MPs would be preferable systems due to their thermal stability and absence of toxic agents used in their preparation. However, drug loading and release need to be optimized. In the second part of this thesis, oil-in-water microemulsions (O/W MEs) based on mediumchain triglycerides were formulated as drug carriers and solubility enhancers for amphotericin B (AmB). Phase diagrams were constructed using surfactant blends with hydrophiliclipophilic balance values between 9.7 and 14.4. The drug-free and drug-loaded MEs presented spherical non-aggregated droplets around 80 and 120 nm, respectively, and a low polydispersity index. The incorporation of AmB was high and depended on the volume fraction of the disperse phase. These MEs did not reduce the viability of J774.A1 macrophage-like cells for concentrations up to 25 μg/mL of AmB. Therefore, O/W MEs based on propylene glycol esters of caprylic acid may be considered as suitable delivery systems for AmB

Avaliação de um método de cromatografia em fase gasosa head space e estudo da estabilidade do etanol em amostras de sangue

The ethanol is the most overused psychoactive drug over the world; this fact makes it one of the main substances required in toxicological exams nowadays. The development of an analytical method, adaptation or implementation of a method known, involves a process of validation that estimates its efficiency in the laboratory routine and credibility of the method. The stability is defined as the ability of the sample of material to keep the initial value of a quantitative measure for a defined period within specific limits when stored under defined conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the method of Gas chromatography and study the stability of ethanol in blood samples, considering the variables time and temperature of storage, and the presence of preservative and, with that check if the conditions of conservation and storage used in this study maintain the quality of the sample and preserve the originally amount of analyte present. Blood samples were collected from 10 volunteers to evaluate the method and to study the stability of ethanol. For the evaluation of the method, part of the samples was added to known concentrations of ethanol. In the study of stability, the other side of the pool of blood was placed in two containers: one containing the preservative sodium fluoride 1% and the anticoagulant heparin and the other only heparin, was added ethanol at a concentration of 0.6 g/L, fractionated in two bottles, one being stored at 4ºC (refrigerator) and another at -20ºC (freezer), the tests were performed on the same day (time zero) and after 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days of storage. The assessment found the difference in results during storage in relation to time zero. It used the technique of headspace associated with gas chromatography with the FID and capillary column with stationary phase of polyethylene. The best analysis of chromatographic conditions were: temperature of 50ºC (column), 150ºC (jet) and 250ºC (detector), with retention time for ethanol from 9.107 ± 0.026 and the tercbutanol (internal standard) of 8.170 ± 0.081 minutes, the ethanol being separated properly from acetaldehyde, acetone, methanol and 2-propanol, which are potential interfering in the determination of ethanol. The technique showed linearity in the concentration range of 0.01 and 3.2 g/L (0.8051 x + y = 0.6196; r2 = 0.999). The calibration curve showed the following equation of the line: y = x 0.7542 + 0.6545, with a linear correlation coefficient equal to 0.996. The average recovery was 100.2%, the coefficients of variation of accuracy and inter intra test showed values of up to 7.3%, the limit of detection and quantification was 0.01 g/L and showed coefficient of variation within the allowed. The analytical method evaluated in this study proved to be fast, efficient and practical, given the objective of this work satisfactorily. The study of stability has less than 20% difference in the response obtained under the conditions of storage and stipulated period, compared with the response obtained at time zero and at the significance level of 5%, no statistical difference in the concentration of ethanol was observed between analysis. The results reinforce the reliability of the method of gas chromatography and blood samples in search of ethanol, either in the toxicological, forensic, social or clinic

A revenda de combustível e os limites constitucionais para a sua regulação: uma análise aplicada aos aspectos concorrênciais e ao controle de preços

The gas retail represents the end of a section of the oil and natural gas derivative chain, for it is at this stage where the commercialization of those merchandises takes place towards the costumers. This process involves an enormous amount of economic agents, which reflects on an activity of great influence on the citizen's everyday. By the time of the gas retail price liberalization, in 2002, there were great expectations towards that measure, for the insertion of that segment in a competitive market was likely to create a decrease in prices. As there was not a drastic drop off in cost, the question was no longer the price itself, but, predominantly, the conduct taken by the economic agents that operate the market. Not in vain, the segment introduces a greater number of different procedures combined with the organs that compose the Brazilian System of Competition Protection. What is understood, however, is that many of these complaints are made in a lightly way, without a proper analysis of the market and its practices, that being why, in this paper, evidences the causes of these complaints and explained what, in fact, occurs in this market. Also, the organs that protect the free initiative in the sector use different methods to assess anticompetitive practices, which are counterproductive on the combat of anticompetitive practice, that being why the present paper analyzes the used methods on a critic perspective, choosing one which is believed to be the most adequate. The present work also tries to present the gas retail prices on a constitutional, free competition, free initiative and consumers defense perspective, analyzing the competition s aspects on the gas market; the shaping of the gas prices; the market boundaries; the anti-competitive practices under the gas market; and analyze the possibility, according to the defined economic standards in the constitutional text of existing a greater control or gas price indexing and/or regulation which limits the distributors and resellers profit on gas. Still, in consequence of this analysis, a study on Natal s market behavior will be developed in its competitive feature. That being said, moreover being a theoretical-descriptive study, data and statistics gathered is used, which will lead, willing to grasp an experiential study on a few aspects of the Potiguar gas retail market

O processo ensino-aprendizagem de história no ensino fundamental: seus limites, suas possibilidades

Study about the teaching-learning process in History, which intents to point limits and possibilities to this process, starting from its characterization and analysis and understanding of the concepts of history, time, society and culture, used by teachers and students. The field research was performed in the Municipal School of Basic Education Zumbi dos Palmares, located in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba State, in the period between 1996 and 2006. To achieve the objective of the study, a number of research instruments were used, amongst which, interviews, questionnaires and exercises emphasizing conceptual learning. The theoretical-methodological premises of the qualitative research justify the use of these various instruments, and serve as base for the interpretation and analysis of the data. This study demonstrated that some limits and possibilities that are found in the teaching-learning process in History are originated in the school context of the 1st phase of basic education and remain in the 2nd phase of this education level, partly, because of the understanding that teachers and students have regarding the concepts of history, time, society and culture

Limites e evolução geodinâmica do Sistema Jaguaribeano, Província Borborema, Nordeste do Brasil

The studied area is geologically located in the Northern Domain of the Borborema Province (Northeast Brazil), limited to the south by the Patos shear zone. Terranes of the Jaguaribeano system are dominant, flanked by the Piranhas (E and S sides) and Central Ceará (NE side) terranes. Its basement comprises gneiss -migmatite terrains of Paleoproterozoic to Archean age (2.6 to 1.9 Ga old), overprinted by neoproterozoic to cambrian tectonotherma l events. Narrow supracrustal belts ( schist belts) display a 1.6 to 1.8 Ga age, as shown by whole - rock Rb-Sr and zircon U-Pb and Pb/Pb dates in acid metavolcanics which dominate in the lower section of these sequences, and in coeval metaplutonics (granitic augen gneisses). From the stratigraphic point of view, three Staterian belts are recognized: 1. Orós Belt - made up by the Orós Group, subdivided in the Santarém (predominantly pure to impure quartzites, micaschists and metacarbonates) and Campo Alegre (metandesites, metabasalts, metarhyolites and metarhyodacites, interlayered with metatuffs and metasediments) formations, and by the Serra do Deserto Magmatic Suite (granitic augen gneisses). 2. Jaguaribe Belt - its lithostratigrahic-lithodemic framework is similar to the one of the Orós Belt, however with a greater expression of the volcano -plutonic components (Campo Alegre Formation and Serra do Deserto Magmatic Suite). The Peixe Gordo Sequence, separately described, is also related to this belt and contain s metasedimentary, metavolcanic (with subordinated volcanoclastics) and metaplutonic units. The first one correlated to the Orós Group and the latter the Serra do Deserto Magmatic Suite. 3. Western Potiguar Belt - represented by the Serra de São José Gro up, subdivided in the Catolezinho (biotite -amphibole gneisses with intercalations of metacarbonates, calcsilicate rocks, amphibolites and quartzite beds to the top) and Minhuins (quartzites, micaschists, metaconglomerates, calcsilicate rocks, acid to the b asic metavolcanics and metatuffs) formations. Its late Paleoproterozoic (Staterian) age was established by a Pb/Pb date on zircons from a granitic orthogneiss of the Catolezinho Formation. The petrographic characteristics and sedimentary structures of the Santarém Formation of the Orós Group point to deltaic to shallow marine depositional systems, overlain by deep water deposits (turbidites). The geodynamic setting of this region encompassed a large depositional basin, probably extending to the east of the Portalegre shear zone and west of the Senador Pompeu shear zone, with possible equivalents in the Jucurutu Formation of the Seridó Belt and in the Ceará Group of central Ceará. The Arneiróz Belt, west Ceará, displays some stratigraphic features and granito ids geochemically akin to the ones of the Orós Belt. The evolutionary setting started with an extensional phase which was more active in the eastern part of this domain (Western Potiguar and part of the Jaguaribe belts), where the rudite and psamite sedime ntation relates to a fluviatile rift environment which evolved to a prograding deltaic system to the west (Orós Group). The basaltic andesitic and rhyolitic volcanics were associated to this extensional phase. During this magmatic event, acid magmas also crystallized at plutonic depths. The Orós Group illustrates the environmental conditions in the western part of this domain. Later on, after a large time gap (1.6 to 1.1 Ga), the region was subjected to an extensional deformational episode marked by 900 Ma old (Sm-Nd data) basic rocks, possibly in connection with the deposition of the Cachoeirinha Group south of the Patos shear zone. In the 800 to 500 Ma age interval, the region was affected by important deformational and metamorphic events coupled with in trusion of granitic rocks of variable size (dykes to batholiths), related to the Brasiliano/Pan -African geotectonic cycle. These events produced structural blocks which differentiate, one from the other, according to the importance of anatectic mobilizatio n, proportion of high-grade supracrustals and the amount of neoproterozoic -cambrian granitoid intrusions. On this basis, a large portion of the Jaguaretama Block/Terrane is relatively well preserved from this late overprint. The border belts of the Jagua retama Block (Western Potiguar and Arneiroz) display kyanite-bearing (medium pressure) mineral associations, while in the inner part of the block there is a north-south metamorphic zoning marked by staurolite or sillimanite peak metamorphic conditions. Regarding the deformations of the Staterian supracrustal rocks, second and third phases were the most important, diagnosed as having developed in a progressive tectonic process. In the general, more vigorous conditions of PT are related to the interval tardi - phase 2 early-phase 3, whose radiometric ages and regional structuring indicators places it in the Brasiliano/Pan-African Cycle. In the Staterian geodynamic setting of Brazilian Platform , these sequences are correlated to the lower Espinhaço Supergroup (p.ex., Rio dos Remédios and Paraguaçu groups, a paleproterozoic rift system in the São Francisco Craton), the Araí and Serra da Mesa groups (north of Goiás, in the so -called Goiás Central Massif), and the Uatumã Group (in the Amazonian Craton). Granitic ( augen gneisses) plutonics are also known from these areas, as for example the A-type granites intrusive in the Araí and Serra da Mesa groups, dated at 1.77 Ga. Gravimetric and geological data place the limits of the Jaguaribeano System (terranes) along the Senador Pompeu Shear Zone (western border) and the Portalegre- Farias Brito shear zone (eastern and southern). However, the same data area not conclusive as regards the interpretation of those structures as suture of the terrane docking process. The main features of those shear zones and of involved lothological associations, appear to favour an intracontinental transpressional -transcurrent regime, during Neoproterozoic-Cambrian times, marking discontinuities along which different crustal blocks were laterally dispersed. Inside of this orogenic system and according to the magnetic data (total field map), the most important terrane boundary appears to be the Jaguaribe shear zone. The geochronological data, on some tectonostratigraphic associations (partly represented by the Ceará and Jucurutu groups), still at a preliminary level, besides the lack of granitic zonation and other petrotectonic criteria, do not allow to propose tectonic terrane assembly diagrams for the studied area

Citocinas e proteínas de fase aguda do soro como marcadores de regressão da resposta inflamatória ao tratamento da tuberculose pulmonar

OBJETIVO: Analisar o padrão de citocinas pró- e antiinflamatórias e da resposta de fase aguda (RFA) como marcadores de resposta ao tratamento da tuberculose pulmonar. MÉTODOS: Determinação dos níveis de interferon-gama (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α, fator de necrose tumoral-alfa), interleucina-10 (IL-10) e transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β, fator transformador de crescimento-beta), pelo método ELISA, em sobrenadante de cultura de células mononucleares do sangue periférico e monócitos, assim como dos níveis de proteínas totais, albumina, globulinas, alfa-1-glicoproteína ácida (AGA), proteína C reativa (PCR) e velocidade de hemossedimentação (VHS) em 28 doentes com tuberculose pulmonar, em três tempos: antes (T0), aos três meses (T3) e aos seis meses (T6) de tratamento, em relação aos controles saudáveis, em um único tempo. RESULTADOS: Os pacientes apresentaram valores maiores de citocinas e RFA que os controles em T0, com diminuição em T3 e diminuição (TNF-α, IL-10, TGF-β, AGA e VHS) ou normalização (IFN-γ e PCR) em T6. CONCLUSÕES: PCR, AGA e VHS são possíveis marcadores para auxiliar no diagnóstico de tuberculose pulmonar e na indicação de tratamento de indivíduos com baciloscopia negativa; PCR (T0 > T3 > T6 = referência) pode também ser marcador de resposta ao tratamento. Antes do tratamento, o perfil Th0 (IFN-γ, IL-10, TNF-α e TGF-β), indutor de e protetor contra inflamação, prevaleceu nos pacientes; em T6, prevaleceu o perfil Th2 (IL-10, TNF-α e TGF-β), protetor contra efeito nocivo pró-inflamatório do TNF-α ainda presente. O comportamento do IFN-γ (T0 > T3 > T6 = controle) sugere sua utilização como marcador de resposta ao tratamento.

Potencialidades analíticas do dietilditiofosfato de amônio em espectrometria de massas com plasma indutivamente acoplado empregando extração em fase sólida e sistemas de injeção em fluxo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Perfil eletroforético das proteínas de fase aguda em caprinos experimentalmente infectados com Trypanosoma evansi

Considered as one of the main agents of the tripanossomiases, Trypanosoma evansi causes a disease generically know as surra, with wide geographic occurence. This work has the aim to study the electrophoretic profile of the acute phase proteins of goats, experimentally infected with T. evansi. Ten crossbread female goats, around 4 months of age, clinically healthy and serum negative for the presence of antibodies anti-T. evansi (IFAT) were used. The animals were divided in two groups: six were inoculated (G1) intravenously with 2,38 × 10 6 tripomastigotes of T. evansi and four were kept as noninfected controls. The blood for serum was collected daily until the 14 days after inoculation (DAI), weekly up to the 98 th DAI and every two weeks up to the 364 th DAI. The serum proteins were separacted by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDSPAGE). Twenty-one proteins were found in the serum of the goats, eight were nominally identified; phosphorylase, transferrin, albumin, antitrypsin, acid glicoprotein, haptoglobin, hemoglobin, and light chain immunoglobulin.

Concentrações séricas de proteínas de fase aguda e IgG na infecção experimental por Ehrlichia canis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Titulação de anticorpos anti-Rhodococcus equi em éguas prenhas e potros

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Toxoplasmose aguda em gestantes de Araraquara-SP: avaliação da aplicabilidade do teste de avidez de IgG anti-toxoplasma

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Atividade anti-inflamatória intestinal do extrato padronizado de Physalis angulata L. (camapú)

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Farmacologia) - IBB

Pesquisa de anticorpos anti-virus da febre aftosa em espécies de animais domésticos e silvestres susceptíveis e não vacinadas, no Pantanal de Mato Grosso do Sul

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Farmacocinética pré-clínica do composto 1-(2,6-diclorofenil)indolin-2-ona (DICCIC), pró-fármaco de diclofenaco

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Lutas sociais, neoliberalismo e limites democráticos no Brasil: gênese, formação e perspectivas da campanha (inter)nacional contra a ALCA (1998-2003)

Pós-graduação em Ciências Sociais - FCLAR