About us

The CEDEFAR laboratory (department of pharmacy at Federal University of Ceará – Fortaleza, Brazil) has been engaged in the development of pharmaceutical analytical assays since 2000, having already been certified by REBLAS-ANVISA to provide pharmaceutical equivalence services.

The lab is coordinated by Professors Luís Carlos Brígido de Moura and Dr. Josimar Eloy. Since 2018, it started to act in the pharmaceutical nanotechnology research area, with the establishment of the GPNANO group, contemplating the development of drug nanocarriers, physical-chemical characterization, in vitro (cell culture) and in vivo evaluation, under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Josimar de Oliveira Eloy. The laboratory is linked to the graduate program in pharmaceutical sciences at the Federal University of Ceará. Currently, the laboratory coordinates the network of medicinal and cosmetic supplies, RIMEC, through the work of Prof. Luís Carlos Brígido de Moura. The network involves technical and metrological support, in addition to serving micro and small companies that operate in the sectors of inputs, medicines and cosmetics. In addition to meeting demands in the area of metrology services, standardization and conformity assessment, RIMEC aims to expand the number of specialists, masters and doctors participating in the technological services activities provided by the laboratories.

It is also in your interest to provide modern, adequate and reliable technological services for technological developments and for the safe use of products. The laboratory has extensive experience in the development of pharmaceutical analytical assays, having participated in important projects: Quality Control of Essential Medicines, produced and distributed through the official drug producing laboratories; the Brazilian Pharmaceutical Equivalence and Bioequivalence Network (RECBIO) and the review of the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia for the fifth edition. Furthermore, CEDEFAR supports the undergraduate course of pharmacy at Federal University of Ceará, both for practical laboratory classes and internship. In this sense, taking advantage of its expertise, the CEDEFAR laboratory aims to conduct research in pharmaceutical nanotechnology and provide services to laboratories and pharmaceutical industries in the development and validation of analytical methods applied to the quality control of medicines.

the group

The Group of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology (GPNANO) since 2018 is part of CEDEFAR lab and is coordinated by the principal investigators Professor Josimar Eloy, PhD, from Federal University of Ceará, and Professor Raquel Petrilli, PhD, from Unilab.

tEAM

The team is composed by the principal investigators, as well as pharmacists, lab technician and undergraduate and graduate students.

Research

The research conducted at the lab involves the development, physicochemical characterization (analyses of particle size, zeta potential, drug quantification by spectrophotometry, HPLC, GC, DSC, FTIR, drug release, morphology by electron microscopy etc) and in vitro/ in vivo evaluation (cytotoxicity, cell uptake, skin penetration, cancer xenografts etc) of nanostructured drug delivery systems (of lipid, polymeric and inorganic compositions) for cancer therapy, particularly with multifunctional (targeted and stimuli-responsive) drug nanocarriers. We have particular interest on functionalization of nanoparticles with monoclonal antibodies for selective drug delivery to cancer. Our research focuses on parenteral and topical delivery routes (with application of physical skin penetration enhancers of drugs).

GPNANO Principal Investigators

Graduated in PHARMACY-BIOCHEMISTRY (having received the award for best student at FCFRP-USP in 2008), MASTER and DOCTORATE in Pharmaceutical Sciences (CAPES 7 concept) by the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto – University of São Paulo. He completed a sandwich undergraduate internship at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México (Mexico). He completed an internship at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). He held the SANDWICH DOCTORATE for 1 year at Ohio State University, in the United States. He completed the POST-DOCTORATE (FAPESP) at the Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCFAR-UNESP). He has experience in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in drug development on the master and industrial scale. He is currently an ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, with exclusive dedication, at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), in Fortaleza, working in the area of Pharmaceutical Technology of Medicines. Leader of the research group CEDEFAR – GPNANO. He has experience in PHARMACEUTICAL TECHNOLOGY and NANOTECHNOLOGY, with an emphasis on the development, characterization and evaluation of drug delivery systems for the treatment of diseases, especially cancer. His current research involves the strategy of functionalization of drug nanocarriers, evaluated in in vitro and in vivo models, using xenographic models in mice for breast and prostate cancer. He is a permanent member of the UFC PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES GRADUATE PROGRAM and guides / co-directs undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students. It has 42 articles published in indexed journals, 1 published book (Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery – Concepts and Applications, Springer), 7 published book chapters, 1 patent application and several abstracts published in annals of scientific events.

josimar.eloy@gmail.com

Graduated in Pharmacy-Biochemistry at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto-USP. Master and PhD in Sciences by the Pharmaceutical Sciences Program of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto – USP, she worked with delivery systems (liquid crystals) and membrane transduction peptides for topical delivery of siRNA and worked on a project in which the development of liposomes and immunoliposomes is highlighted with antitumor drugs and monoclonal antibodies subcutaneously and topically, using physical methods. During his doctorate he undertook a sandwich internship in Prof. Robert J Lee (co-supervisor) at Ohio State University, Columbus, United States in 2014, in which he specialized in the functionalization of liposomes using monoclonal antibodies. She did post-doctorate in nanotechnology at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto-USP, under the supervision of Profa. Dra. Renata Fonseca Vianna Lopez. She was Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Ceará (2019), linked to the Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering and the Graduate Program in the Northeast Biotechnology Network (RENORBIO). She currently works as an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Health Sciences at the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB). She has experience in pharmacotechnics, physical chemistry, nanotechnology, gene therapy, use of classic and/or immunotherapeutic anti-tumors, in the treatment of cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In addition, she has experience in the development of analytical and bioanalytical methods (HPLC and ELISA) and methods of evaluating the performance of formulations in vitro (cell culture, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and skin penetration experiments) and in vivo (xenographic model) with emphasis on the use of physical and chemical methods to promote skin penetration. She has published 28 articles, 5 book chapters published and about 40 abstracts published or presented at national and international events

Petrilliraquel@gmail.com