This study aimed to synthesize and characterize nanoparticles (NPs) of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and evaluate their ability to incorporate plant extracts with antitumor activity and low dissolution in aqueous media. The extract used was
n
-hexane partition of the methanol extract of
Piper cabralanum
(PCA-HEX). PMMA NPs were obtained using the mini-emulsion method, which was able to encapsulate almost 100% of PCA-HEX. The synthesized polymeric particles presented with a size of 200 nm and a negative charge. Cytotoxicity tests by MTT and trypan blue assays showed that NPs without PCA-HEX did not kill leukemic cells (K562 cells). NPs containing PCA-HEX were able to enhance cell death when compared to pure extract. The results showed that PMMA NPs could be useful as a drug delivery system as they can enhance the antitumor activity of the PCA-HEX extract by more than 20-fold. PMMA NPs containing plant extracts with antitumor activities may be an alternative to control the evolution of diseases such as leukemia.
The genus Passiflora L. is the most representative of the Passifloraceae family and includes about 500 species. The aim of this work was to analyze three different passion fruit species in relation to vitexin-2´´-O-rhamnoside content by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode-array ultaviolet detector. Samples were prepared by water infusion (10% w/v), dried by lyophilization, and stored in amber vials at-20°C. The method for quantification of vitexin-2´´-O-rhamnoside was developed and validated using a Shimadzu Class-VP liquid phase chromatograph. Quantification of vitexin-2´´-Orhamnoside was done with an Ascentis-phenyl supelco column (250 mm x 4.6 mm i.d. x 5 µm), mobile phase composed of ultrapure water (pH = 3.0) (Solvent A)/ acetonitrile (Solvent B), in gradient elution mode, flow rate of 1.4 mL/min, and UV detection at 340 nm. The adopted method showed great linearity, precision, accuracy, detection (LOD), and quantification (LOQ) limits, recovery and robustness. Total analysis time was 16 min. This method has clear advantages when compared to those found in the literature, since the use of a silica-based phenyl column allowed the best chromatographic resolution, resulting in better LOD and LOQ. Vitexin-2''-O-rhamnoside content was higher in P. foetida (7.21%), followed by P. setacea (3.66%), and P. alata (2.89%).
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