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Viegas C, Almeida B, Monteiro A, Paciência I, Rufo J, Aguiar L, Lage B, Diogo Gonçalves LM, Caetano LA, Carolino E, Gomes AQ, Twarużek M, Kosicki R, Grajewski J, Teixeira JP, Viegas S, Pereira C. Exposure assessment in one central hospital: A multi-approach protocol to achieve an accurate risk characterization. Environ Res 2020; 181:108947. [PMID: 31767353 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Revised: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The bioburden in a Hospital building originates not only from patients, visitors and staff, but is also disseminated by several indoor hospital characteristics and outdoor environmental sources. This study intends to assess the exposure to bioburden in one central Hospital with a multi-approach protocol using active and passive sampling methods. The microbial contamination was also characterized through molecular tools for toxigenic species, antifungal resistance and mycotoxins and endotoxins profile. Two cytotoxicity assays (MTT and resazurin) were conducted with two cell lines (Calu-3 and THP-1), and in vitro pro-inflammatory potential was assessed in THP-1 cell line. Out of the 15 sampling locations 33.3% did not comply with Portuguese legislation regarding bacterial contamination, whereas concerning fungal contamination 60% presented I/O > 1. Toxigenic fungal species were observed in 27% of the sampled rooms (4 out of 15) and qPCR analysis successfully amplified DNA from the Aspergillus sections Flavi and Fumigati, although mycotoxins were not detected. Growth of distinct fungal species was observed on Sabouraud dextrose agar with triazole drugs, such as Aspergillus section Versicolores on 1 mg/L VORI. The highest concentrations of endotoxins were found in settled dust samples and ranged from 5.72 to 23.0 EU.mg-1. While a considerable cytotoxic effect (cell viability < 30%) was observed in one HVAC filter sample with Calu-3 cell line, it was not observed with THP-1 cell line. In air samples a medium cytotoxic effect (61-68% cell viability) was observed in 3 out of 15 samples. The cytokine responses produced a more potent average cell response (46.8 ± 12.3 ρg/mL IL-1β; 90.8 ± 58.5 ρg/mL TNF-α) on passive samples than air samples (25.5 ± 5.2 ρg/mL IL-1β and of 19.4 ± 5.2 ρg/mL TNF-α). A multi-approach regarding parameters to assess, sampling and analysis methods should be followed to characterize the biorburden in the Hospital indoor environment. This study supports the importance of considering exposure to complex mixtures in indoor environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Viegas
- H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal; NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Portugal.
| | - Beatriz Almeida
- H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Monteiro
- H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal; Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1600-560, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Inês Paciência
- Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal & Centro Hospitalar São João, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Ciência e Inovação em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial, Porto, Portugal
| | - João Rufo
- Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal & Centro Hospitalar São João, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Lívia Aguiar
- INSA - Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal
| | - Bruna Lage
- INSA - Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal
| | - Lídia Maria Diogo Gonçalves
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Liliana Aranha Caetano
- H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal; Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Elisabete Carolino
- H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Anita Quintal Gomes
- H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal; University of Lisbon Institute of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Magdalena Twarużek
- Kazimierz Wielki University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Physiology and Toxicology, Chodkiewicza 30, 85-064, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Robert Kosicki
- Kazimierz Wielki University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Physiology and Toxicology, Chodkiewicza 30, 85-064, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Jan Grajewski
- Kazimierz Wielki University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Experimental Biology, Department of Physiology and Toxicology, Chodkiewicza 30, 85-064, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - João Paulo Teixeira
- EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; INSA - Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal
| | - Susana Viegas
- H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal; NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Portugal
| | - Cristiana Pereira
- EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; INSA - Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Porto, Portugal
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Abstract
Pharmaceutical research has been focussed on developing improved delivery systems while exploring new ways of using approved excipients. The present work investigated the potential of starch nanocapsules (StNC) as a topical delivery platform for hydrophilic antimicrobial drugs using minocycline hydrochloride (MH) as a model drug. Thus, a quality by design approach was used to assess the role of different factors that affect the main pharmaceutical properties of StNC prepared using an emulsification-solvent evaporation method. Full characterisation was performed in terms of particle size, encapsulation efficiency, morphology and physical stability at 5 ± 3 °C. Results show the surfactant and lipid contents play a major role in StNC particle size distribution. The MH loading only promoted minor changes upon StNC properties. Formulations were stable without variations on physicochemical properties. All tested formulations presented a zeta-potential of +33.6 ± 6.7 mV, indicating a good physical stability and evidencing that StNC are suitable nanocarriers for topical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Marto
- a Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa) , Universidade de Lisboa , Lisboa , Portugal
| | - L F Gouveia
- a Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa) , Universidade de Lisboa , Lisboa , Portugal
| | - L M D Gonçalves
- a Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa) , Universidade de Lisboa , Lisboa , Portugal
| | - H M Ribeiro
- a Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa) , Universidade de Lisboa , Lisboa , Portugal
| | - A J Almeida
- a Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa) , Universidade de Lisboa , Lisboa , Portugal
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Caetano LA, Figueiredo L, Almeida AJ, Gonçalves LMD. BCG-loaded chitosan microparticles: interaction with macrophages and preliminary in vivo studies. J Microencapsul 2017; 34:203-217. [PMID: 28378596 DOI: 10.1080/02652048.2017.1316325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop a novel BCG-loaded chitosan vaccine with high association efficiency which can afford efficient interaction with APC and elicit local and Th1-type-specific immune response after intranasal administration. Chitosan-suspended BCG and BCG-loaded chitosan-alginate microparticles were prepared by ionotropic gelation. Interaction with APC was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy using rBCG-GFP. Specific immune responses were evaluated following intranasal immunisation of mice. Cellular uptake was approximately two-fold higher for chitosan-suspended BCG. A single dose of BCG-loaded microparticles or chitosan-suspended BCG by intranasal route improved Th1-type response compared with subcutaneous BCG. Chitosan-suspended BCG originated the highest mucosal response in the lungs by intranasal route. These positive results indicate that the proposed approach of whole live BCG microencapsulation in chitosan-alginate for intranasal immunisation was successful in allowing efficient interaction with APC, while improving the cellular immune response, which is of interest for local immunisation against tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liliana Aranha Caetano
- a Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Lisbon , Lisbon , Portugal.,b Department of Ciências e Tecnologias Laboratoriais e Saúde Comunitária, ESTeSL - Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa , Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa , Lisbon , Portugal
| | - Lara Figueiredo
- a Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Lisbon , Lisbon , Portugal
| | - António J Almeida
- a Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Lisbon , Lisbon , Portugal
| | - L M D Gonçalves
- a Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy , University of Lisbon , Lisbon , Portugal
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Figueiredo L, Cadete A, Gonçalves LMD, Corvo ML, Almeida AJ. Intranasal immunisation of mice against Streptococcus equi using positively charged nanoparticulate carrier systems. Vaccine 2012; 30:6551-8. [PMID: 22947139 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.08.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2012] [Revised: 07/23/2012] [Accepted: 08/20/2012] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
In order to potentiate a strong immune response after mucosal vaccination with a low immunogenic S. equi enzymatic extract, two positively charged particulate delivery systems (liposomes and nanoparticles) were created. Positively surface charged particles were expected to efficiently bind to negatively charged cell membranes and facilitate antigen uptake. Phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol-stearylamine liposomes encapsulating S. equi antigens were prepared and dimensionated to 0.22±0.01μm with a polydispersity index <0.242, zeta potential of +12±4mV and an encapsulation efficiency of 13±3% (w/w). Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by ionotropic gelation with sodium tripolyphosphate, presenting a particle size of 0.17±0.01μm with polydispersity index <0.362, zeta potential of +23±8mV and an encapsulation efficiency of 53±6% (w/w). Both encapsulation methods were recognised as innocuous once antigens structure remained intact after incorporation as assessed by SDS-PAGE. Intranasal immunisation of mice with both formulations successfully elicited mucosal, humoral and cellular immune responses. Mucosal stimulation was confirmed by increased sIgA levels in the lungs, being the chitosan nanoparticles more successful in this achievement probably due to their different mucoadhesive properties. Both formulations share the ability to induce Th1-mediated immune responses characterised by IFN-γ production and high IgG2a antibody titers as well as a Th2 immune response characterised mainly by IL-4 production and IgG1 antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Figueiredo
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
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Lopes R, Eleutério CV, Gonçalves LMD, Cruz MEM, Almeida AJ. Lipid nanoparticles containing oryzalin for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Eur J Pharm Sci 2011; 45:442-50. [PMID: 21983568 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2011.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2011] [Revised: 09/19/2011] [Accepted: 09/22/2011] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Oryzalin is a dinitroaniline drug that has attracted recent interest for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Its use as an antiparasitic therapeutic agent is limited by the low water solubility associated with an in vivo rapid clearance, leading to the administration of larger and possibly toxic doses in in vivo studies, and the use of solvents that may lead to undesirable side effects. In the present work oryzalin-containing lipid nanoparticles were produced by a emulsion-solvent evaporation technique using a composition suitable for parenteral administration, i.e., tripalmitin (solid lipid) and a complex mixture of three emulsifying agents (soya lecithin, Tween® 20 and sodium deoxycholate). Physicochemical characterization included the determination of mean particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency and DSC studies. Final formulations revealed values of <140 nm (PI<0.2) and zeta potential of ≈-35 mV, as well as encapsulation efficiency >75%. The effects of various processing parameters, such as lipid and surfactant and composition and concentration, as well as the stability during the harsh procedures of autoclaving (121°C/15 min) and freeze-drying were also evaluated. Formulations revealed to be stable throughout freeze-drying and moist-heath sterilization without significant variations on physicochemical properties and no significant oryzalin losses. The use of a complex surfactant mixture proved crucial for preserving formulation stability. Particularly, lecithin appears as a key component in the stabilization of tripalmitin-based oryzalin-containing lipid nanoparticles. Finally, cell viability studies demonstrated that the incorporation of oryzalin in nanoparticles decreases cytotoxicity, thus suggesting this strategy may improve tolerability and therapeutic index of dinitroanilines.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Lopes
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
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Florindo HF, Pandit S, Gonçalves LMD, Alpar HO, Almeida AJ. Streptococcus equi antigens adsorbed onto surface modified poly-epsilon-caprolactone microspheres induce humoral and cellular specific immune responses. Vaccine 2008; 26:4168-77. [PMID: 18599166 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.05.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2008] [Revised: 04/29/2008] [Accepted: 05/25/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Streptococcus equi subsp. equi is the causative agent of Strangles, which is one of the most costly and widespread infectious diseases, affecting the respiratory tract of Equidae. In this work, polyvinyl alcohol, alginate and chitosan were used in formulations of surface modified poly-epsilon-caprolactone microspheres which were evaluated after adsorption of S.equi enzymatic extract for physicochemical characteristics and in vivo immune responses in mice. After subcutaneous immunisation, the formulations induced higher lymphokines levels, in accordance with cellular and humoral immune responses, as compared to the free antigen, successfully activating the paths leading to Th1 and Th2 cells. The obtained results highlight the role of these microspheres as an adjuvant and their use to protect animals against strangles.
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Affiliation(s)
- H F Florindo
- iMED, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
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