Mefloquine (MQ) is an antimalarial medication prescribed to treat or malaria prevention.. When taken by children, vomiting usually occurs, and new doses of medication frequently need to be taken. So, developing pediatric medicines using taste-masked antimalarial drug complexes is mandatory for the success of mefloquine administration. The hypothesis that binding mefloquine to an ion-exchange resin (R) could circumvent the drug’s bitter taste problem was proposed, and solid-state ¹³C cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) NMR was able to follow MQ–R mixtures through chemical shift and relaxation measurements. The nature of MQ–R complex formation could then be determined. Impedimetric electronic tongue equipment also verified the resinate taste-masking efficiency in vitro. Variations in chemical shifts and structure dynamics measured by proton relaxation properties (e.g., T1ρ^H) were used as probes to follow the extension of mixing and specific interactions that would be present in MQ–R. A significant decrease in T1ρ^H values was observed for MQ carbons in MQ–R complexes, compared to the ones in MQ (from 100–200 ms in MQ to 20–50 ms in an MQ–R complex). The results evidenced that the cationic resin interacts strongly with mefloquine molecules in the formulation of a 1:1 ratio complex. Thus, ¹³C CPMAS NMR allowed the confirmation of the presence of a binding between mefloquine and polacrilin in the MQ–R formulation studied.

O processo de secagem por atomização ou spray-drying é uma das operações mais frequentes para a obtenção de extratos secos a partir de plantas medicinais. No entanto, durante o processo de preparação desses insumos farmacêuticos ativos (IFA) de origem vegetal, uma série de fatores podem afetar a qualidade desses produtos intermediários. Por meio de levantamento bibliográfico científico e da legislação brasileira sobre medicamentos fitoterápicos, vivências do grupo em pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D) da Fiocruz e da realização de Brainstorming entre os integrantes da equipe, foi elaborado um diagrama de causa e efeito (Diagrama de Ishikawa). Tal pesquisa teve o objetivo de levantar pontos críticos no processo de produção desses IFA de origem vegetal, apontando aspectos do processo de spray-drying de ordem teórica e prática que poderiam afetar a qualidade do produto fitoterápico. Com base nas informações mencionadas no diagrama e na discussão desses pontos acerca de cada etapa até a preparação do extrato seco, foi possível racionalizar o processo de obtenção desse intermediário, com foco em transformá-lo em produto fitoterápico.

Background: The Brazilian Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (BHP) recommends using glass amber Type I, II, or III as a primary container for storing homoeopathic liquid medicines. Although the glass has advantages, there are some disadvantages, such as fragility, weight, and the presence of silicate particles, which have been described as critical components involved with the generation of silicon microparticles detected in homoeopathic solutions. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the stability of hydroalcoholic solutions of Arsenicum album dynamised in two different vials: class II hydrolytic amber glass and amber high-density polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Materials and Methods: Two potencies of the Arsenicum album, 6C and 30C, were prepared according to BHP. The solutions were stored in glass and PET amber flasks. The stability study was carried out in a climatic chamber according to the conditions described in the Brazilian official compendium for twelve months. During the study, samples were evaluated by density, pH, refractometry, and conductivity. Microbiological purity was evaluated at the beginning and the end of stability study. Results: No statistical differences were observed in the density of samples in both conditions and packages. The pH of all samples remained around 6, and refractometry around 1.363, suggesting their chemical stability. The microbiological assays showed no pathogenic microorganisms after twelve months of storing all samples. Conclusion: The results showed that Arsenicum album 6C and 30C are stable preparations. It can also be concluded that glass bottles are suitable for storing dynamised solutions of Arsenicum album. PET bottles maintained the physicochemical and microbiological stability of the solutions and can be a potential alternative to prepare or store homoeopathic matrices. However, further studies are required to confirm the suitability of PET vials in compounding and storing homoeopathic medicines.