The oral route has notable advantages to administering dosage forms. One of the most important questions to solve is the poor solubility of most drugs which produces low bioavailability and delivery problems, a major challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. Albendazole is a benzimidazole carbamate extensively used in oral chemotherapy against intestinal parasites, due to its extended spectrum activity and low cost. Nevertheless, the main disadvantage is the poor bioavailability due to its very low solubility in water. The main objective of this study was to prepare microcrystal formulations by the bottom-up technology to increase albendazole dissolution rate, in order to enhance its antiparasitic activity. Thus, 20 novel microstructures based on chitosan, cellulose derivatives, and poloxamer as a surfactant were produced and characterized by their physicochemical properties and in vitro biological activity. To determine the significance of type and concentration of polymer, and presence or absence of surfactant in the crystals, the variables area under the curve, albendazole microcrystal solubility, and drug released (%) at 30 min were analyzed with a three-way ANOVA. This analysis indicated that the microcrystals made with hydroxyethylcellulose or chitosan appear to be the best options to optimize oral absorption of the active pharmaceutical ingredient. The in vitro evaluation of anthelmintic activity on adult forms of Trichinella spiralis identified system S10A as the most effective, of choice for testing therapeutic efficacy in vivo.

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Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis), which is a cosmopolitan nematode that infects humans among other species, presents a complex host-parasite relationship that hinders the development of tools to eradicate the parasitosis. The aim of this research was to analyze the host response during a primary infection with T. spiralis in five genetically different mouse lines of the CBi-IGE stock. Adult males from the CBi+, CBi−, CBi, CBi/L and CBi/C lines were infected with 1, 2 or 4 L1 larvae per g of body weight. In the chronic stage, the number of parasites per g of tissue (relative larval load, rLL) showed a significant host genotype-dose interaction, since it did not increase in the same way in the five genotypes. At the lowest dose, both CBi− and CBi/L mice were resistant while CBi+, CBi/C, and CBi were susceptible. At the highest dose, only CBi/L remained resistant, and CBi+ was the most susceptible. The reproductive capacity index of adult worms (RCI = rLL/infective dose) evinced only a genotype effect, allowing rating each line as resistant or susceptible regardless of dose. Animals receiving 2 L1 larvae were also sacrificed in the intestinal phase (6 and 13 days p-i) to determine the number of adult parasites (nAP) recovered in a small intestine segment, and female fecundity (Ff). No differences in nAP were observed among genotypes on day 6 p-i. nAP decreased between days 6 and 13 p-i, this reduction being different among genotypes and significant only in CBi/L and CBi/C. Ff decreased in CBi/L and CBi/C on day 13 p-i. At the time of infection, serum cytokine baseline values showed a Th1 orientation for genotype CBi/L (high IFN-γ and IL-2) * Corresponding author. and a Th2 for CBi+ (high IL-4 and IL-10).The variability in the response observed in this murine model suggests its potential usefulness to gain insight into the mechanisms that regulate hostparasite relationship.

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This work aimed to synthesize a novel β-cyclodextrin derivative, itaconyl-β-cyclodextrin to evaluate whether albendazole inclusion complexes with the new β-cyclodextrin derivative-improved albendazole dissolution efficiency and its anthelminthic activity. The new derivative was thoroughly evaluated and characterized, and an average degree of substitution of 1.4 per cyclodextrin molecule was observed. Albendazole:itaconyl-β-cyclodextrin complexes were prepared by spray drying procedures and investigated using phase solubility diagrams, dissolution efficiency, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electronic microscopy, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Phase solubility diagrams and mass spectrometry studies showed that the inclusion complex was formed in an equimolar ratio. Stability constant values were 602 M −1 in water, and 149 M −1 in HCl 0.1 N. Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments of the inclusion complex showed correlation signals between the aromatic and propyl protons of albendazole and the itaconyl-βcyclodextrin inner protons. The studies indicated solid structure changes of albendazole included in itaconyl-β-cyclodextrin. The maximum drug release was reached at 15 min, and the inclusion complex solubility was 88-fold higher than that of the pure drug. The in vitro anthelmintic activity assay showed that the complex was significantly more effective than pure albendazole.