Evaluation of in vitro and in vivo Efficacy of a Novel Amphotericin B-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carrier in the Treatment of Leishmania braziliensis Infection

Jéssica Rebouças-Silva,1,2,* Maraine Catarina Tadini,3,4,* Danielle Devequi-Nunes,1,5 Ana Luíza Mansur,3 Paulo S Silveira-Mattos,1,2 Camila I de Oliveira,2,6 Fábio R Formiga,7,8 Andresa A Berretta,9 Franciane Marquele-Oliveira,3 Valéria M Borges1,2 1Laboratory of Inflammation and Biomarkers, Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 2Postgraduate Program in Pathology, Faculty of Medicine of Bahia, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 3Eleve Science Research and Development, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; 4Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; 5Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Formulations, SENAI Institute of Innovation in Advanced Health Systems, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 6Laboratory of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 7Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; 8Postgraduate Program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; 9Laboratory of Research, Development and Innovation, Apis Flora Industrial e Comercial Ltda, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Valéria M Borges; Franciane Marquele-Oliveira Email vborges@bahia.fiocruz.br; franciane.oliveira@elevescience.com.brBackground: Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease, and the current therapeutic arsenal for its treatment is seriously limited by high cost and toxicity. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) represent a promising approach due to high drug loading capacity, controlled drug release profiles and superior stability. Here, we explore the efficacy of a unique pH-sensitive amphotericin B-loaded NLC (AmB-NLC) in Leishmania braziliensis infection in vitro and in vivo.Methods and Results: AmB-NLC was assessed by dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy ...