Bianca Simonassi-Paiva

Dr. Bianca Simonassi-Paiva


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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6 December 2020 in Pharmaceutics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
IAISMIN IZWANI ZAINOL ABIDIN
ISMIN IZWANI ZAINOL ABIDIN
Emanuele RezoagliEmanuele Rezoagli
Emanuele Rezoagli
BSBianca Simonassi-Paiva
Bianca Simonassi-Paiva
Gustavo FehrenbachGustavo Fehrenbach
Gustavo Fehrenbach
KMKevin Masterson
Kevin Masterson
Ian MajorIan Major
Ian Major
This study was performed to develop an adjuvant therapy in the form of a self-administered vaginal tablet regimen for the localized delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. This therapy will help to reduce relapse by eradicating cancerous cells in the margin of cervical tumors. The vaginal tablet is a very common formulation that is easy to manufacture, easy to place in the vagina, and has a low cost of manufacture, making them ideal for use in developing countries. A combination of disulfiram and 5-fluorouracil, which are both off-patent drugs and provide different modes of action, were evaluated. The tablets developed were evaluated for weight variation, thickness, hardness, friability, swelling index, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), particle morphology, in vitro drug release, and cytotoxicity on Ca-Ski cells. Both layers were designed to release both drugs concurrently for a synergistic effect. The polymer–polymer interaction between the layers was able to reduce the loss of formulation due to chitosan. While the bilayer tablet had satisfactory performance in the physicochemical tests, in vitro cell culture with Ca-Ski also showed a synergistic effect using a combination of drugs at a low dose. However, the formulation only had 24-h dose release before degradation. Further drug combinations should be evaluated in subsequent studies.