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Development of Smart Polymer Microparticles through Suspension Polymerization for Treatment of Schistosomiasis
Author(s) -
Paiva Thamiris Franckini,
Alves Jéssica Bentes,
Melo Príamo Albuquerque,
Pinto José Carlos
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
macromolecular reaction engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1862-8338
pISSN - 1862-832X
DOI - 10.1002/mren.201900028
Subject(s) - cationic polymerization , methacrylate , zeta potential , polymer , praziquantel , suspension polymerization , copolymer , methyl methacrylate , polymerization , chemistry , schistosomiasis , polymer chemistry , materials science , chemical engineering , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , medicine , immunology , helminths , engineering
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that affects millions of people, especially low‐income people, and is considered a major public health problem in underdeveloped countries. The drug used most often for the treatment of the disease is praziquantel (PZQ), which has a strong and characteristic bitter taste that makes treatment of children inconvenient. For this reason, the present work investigates the development of smart pH‐sensitive polymer microparticles produced through suspension polymerizations to be used as vehicles for the controlled release of praziquantel in the body. The microparticles are produced through copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and the cationic comonomers diethylaminoethyl methacrylate or dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate. The obtained results indicate that microparticles with sizes in the range of 10–1100 µm can be formed successfully, allowing high PZQ encapsulation efficiencies (>80%). Zeta potential analyses and drug release assays confirm the pH‐sensitive responses of the cationic copolymers, leading to effective release of PZQ (around 80% in pH 1.2) in acidic media that simulate the organic fluids present in the stomach.