Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in older people, and available treatments are palliative and produce undesirable side effects. The 4-phenyltellanyl-7-chloroquinoline (TQ) is an organochalcogen compound studied due to its pharmacological properties, particularly its antioxidant potential. However, TQ possesses some drawbacks such as low aqueous solubility and high toxicity, thus warranting the search for tools that improve the safety and effectiveness of new compounds. Here, we developed and investigated the biological effects of TQ-loaded polymeric nanocapsules (NCTQ) in an AD model in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans expressing human Aβ_1–42 in their body–wall muscles and Swiss mice injected with Aβ_25–35. The NCTQ displayed good physicochemical properties, including nanometer size and maximum encapsulation capacity. The treatment showed low toxicity, reduced Aβ peptide-induced paralysis, and activated an endoplasmic reticulum chaperone in the C. elegans model. The Aβ injection in mice caused memory impairment, which NCTQ mitigated by improving working, long-term, and aversive memory. Additionally, no changes in biochemical markers were evidenced in mice, demonstrating that there was no hepatotoxicity in the tested doses. Altogether, these findings provide insights into the neuroprotective effects of TQ and indicate that NCTQ is a promising candidate for AD treatment.

Drug repurposing allows searching for new biological targets, especially against emerging diseases such as Covid-19. Drug colchicine (COL) presents recognized anti-inflammatory action, while the nanotechnology purpose therapies with low doses, efficacy, and decrease the drug’s side-effects. This study aims to evaluate the effects of COL and colchicine nanocapsules (NCCOL) on survival, LC50, activity locomotor, and oxidative stress parameters, elucidating the toxicity profile in acute and chronic exposure in Drosophila melanogaster. Three-day-old flies were investigated into groups: Control, 0.001, 0.0025, 0.005, and 0.010 mg/mL of COL or NCCOL. The survival rate, open field test, LC50, oxidative stress markers (reactive species (RS) production, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), antioxidant enzyme activity (catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase), protein thiols, nonprotein thiols, acetylcholinesterase activity, and cell viability were measured. As a result, acute exposure to the COL decreases the number of crosses in the open field and increases CAT activity. NCCOL reduced RS levels, increased lipoperoxidation and SOD activity. Chronic exposure to the COL and NCCOL in high concentrations implied high mortality and enzymatic inhibition of the CAT and AChE, and only the COL caused locomotor damage in the open field test. Thus, NCCOL again reduced the formation of RS while COL increased. In this comparative study, NCCOL was less toxic to the antioxidant system than COL and showed notable involvement of oxidative stress as one of their toxicity mechanisms. Future studies are needed to elucidate all aspects of nanosafety related to the NCCOL. Graphical Abstract

Objectives: Investigating how nanoparticle systems interact in whole blood (WB) is critical to evaluating the effectiveness of malaria therapy. Methods: We decided to establish a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model of the quinine population in WB using Plasmodium berghei-infected mice, with a subsequent model comparison for nanocapsules coated with polysorbate (NCP80) or prepared with Eudragit^® RS (NCEUD). The WB quinine population pharmacokinetic model in rats was developed using plasma and partition coefficients for rat erythrocytes. Mouse WB quinine population PK/PD modeling was developed using allometrically scaled literature-free mouse quinine pharmacokinetic data and covariate values to obtain a WB population pharmacokinetic model for quinine and nanocapsules in mice. This allowed for PK/PD modeling of the quinine population with the WB concentration and parasitemia data in mice. All models were built in NONMEN. Results: The WB quinine concentration profiles in rats were characterized using a two-compartment model. Nanoencapsulation reduced clearance and central compartment volume and increased peripherical compartimental volume. A maximum effect model described the PK/PD of the quinine WB population in mice, demonstrating that NCEUD enhances the antimalarial effect. Conclusions: Quinine WB is a good surrogate for describing the response to exposure in malaria. NCEUD outperformed NCP80 and free quinine, suggesting that cationic surfaces improve the potential for treating malaria.

Curcumin (CUR) is a bioactive compound with antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and anticancer properties, though its clinical use is limited by low bioavailability, rapid metabolism, and poor solubility. To address these challenges, our study investigates nanoencapsulated curcumin (NC‐CUR) to enhance its pharmacokinetics and therapeutic efficacy, using Drosophila melanogaster as a preclinical model for chronic inflammation. We developed NC‐CUR with an average size of 196 nm, uniform distribution, and high encapsulation efficiency. Population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) modeling demonstrated improved bioavailability and prolonged systemic exposure of NC‐CUR in rodents. Using time‐to‐event (TTE) analysis, we further evaluated NC‐CUR's impact on survival in LPS‐induced inflammation in D. melanogaster . The TTE model confirmed that NC‐CUR significantly extended survival compared to CUR and control groups, revealing a cumulative protective effect. These findings suggest that TTE modeling is a valuable tool for investigating NC‐CUR's protective effects in chronic inflammation, warranting further studies in mammalian models to fully explore its therapeutic potential and translational relevance.

The aim of this work was to implement three alternative methodologies to replace the animal's use in teaching as an aid tool to the learning/teaching process in pharmacology classes. We proposed to students in Pharmacology classes of Pharmacy course, three technical didactic alternatives to animal use: discussion group on a social network, mental maps and public space for exposure of contents called "Pharmaco window". At the end of the course, we applied a simple questionnaire to students enrolled in the course seeking to evaluate the perception of the understanding, use and acceptance of these three methods. The 26 students (100%) participated in all activities and said that the strategies adopted were positive regarding learning and discussions. They have considered the concept maps as a technique which facilitated the learning process (54%) and the closed group on the social network as the activity that led to a better discussion and understanding of the contents (77%). All the techniques adopted contributed positively. Thus, the didactic alternatives to use of animals in classes made possible the transmitting of knowledge, saving the even a small number of animals to suffer and following ethical values.