NANOPARTÍCULAS POLIMÉRICAS BIODEGRADÁVEIS DE POLI (ÁCIDO LÁCTICO-CO-GLICÓLICO) FUNCIONALIZADAS PARA INCORPORAÇÃO DE PEÇONHA DE Bothrops jararaca
Bothrops jararaca, immunoadjuvants, PLGA nanoparticles, nanobiotechnology
Snake-envenoming represents is a worldwide public health issue. Various institutions routinely produce antivenom formulations against snakes. Suitable technologies have been investigated for slow release of encapsulated recombinant or native proteins capable of inducing antibody production. The search for new immunoadjuvants and vaccines expands the alternatives and improves the antivenom therapeutics. Nanotechnology is associated to antivenom serum improvement once venom-loaded nanoparticles modulate the protein release and activating immune response to produce specific antibodies. Polymeric nanoparticles are colloidal dispersions with particle size generally lower than 300 nm which have been used as drug delivery systems for bioactive macromolecules. The aim of this study is obtain and characterize biodegradable cationic nanoparticles to anionic protein loading. The sub 200 nm poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles were produced and functionalized with hyper-branched polyethylenimine (PEI) using the nanoprecipitation technique. The parameters assessed by dynamic light scattering, zeta potential measurements and atomic force microscopy were monitored to establish a suitable formulation. The type (poloxamer 407) and concentration of surfactant (0.5% w/v) were achieved for a homogeneous and stable formulation. Small-sized (100–200 nm) and spherical particles with protein association efficiency of about 100% were reached. The high protein loading efficiency and zeta potential results demonstrated that Bothrops jararaca venom were adsorbed on particle surface, which remained as a stable colloidal dispersion (over 6 weeks). Thus, the cationic nanoparticles as carrier to bioactive molecules was successfully developed and demonstrated to promising immunoadjuvant and a novel nanocarrier for protein or nucleic acids release.