[Subcontracting a steam sterilization activity: Impact on surgical instruments].

Subcontracting our institution's sterilization activity induced the implementation of an automated cleaning facility. Following this development, some of the resterilizable stainless steel needle holders started to show abnormal corrosion. Our study goal was to investigate the causes of this corrosion in order to optimize the sterilization circuit.

Therapeutic evaluation of free and nanocapsule-encapsulated atovaquone in the treatment of murine visceral leishmaniasis.

The activities of free atovaquone (ATV) and of poly(D,L-lactide) nanocapsules loaded with the drug, in the treatment of mice with visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum, were compared. Each mouse was infected intravenously with 2x10(7) promastigotes, on day 0. On days 15, 17 and 19, most of the infected mice were treated either with free ATV, in a dimethylsulphoxide/cremophor/water mixture, or with the ATV-loaded nanocapsules (at, respectively, 0.

Atovaquone-loaded nanocapsules: influence of the nature of the polymer on their in vitro characteristics.

Nanocapsules with atovaquone concentration of 1,000 micrograms/ml were prepared according to the interfacial deposition technique using different polymers: poly- epsilon -caprolactone (PECL), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLAGA). The following characteristics of nanoparticles were determined: percentage of encapsulation of atovaquone, percentage of encapsulation of benzyl benzoate (BB), nanoparticle size, nanoparticle wall thickness, suspension pH, and in vitro stability. The different formulations showed similar characteristics: maximal percentage of encapsulation (100%), particle size of approximately 230 nm, neutral pH and wall thickness of approximately 20 nm.

Characterisation of atovaquone resistance in Leishmania infantum promastigotes.

Atovaquone, an antiparasitic agent, could possibly represent an alternative therapy after relapse following classical treatment for visceral leishmaniasis. Atovaquone-resistant strains were selected in vitro by stepwise drug pressure to study the mechanism of resistance in Leishmania. Characteristics of a promastigote strain resistant to 250 microg/ml of atovaquone were compared with those of the wild type (WT) strain.

Therapeutic evaluation of free and liposome-encapsulated atovaquone in the treatment of murine leishmaniasis.

The use of drug delivery systems may reduce the toxicity and improve the activity of anti-leishmanial compounds. The activity of atovaquone (ATV)-loaded liposomes was compared by determination of median effective doses (ED(25) and ED(50)), with that of free ATV in a murine model of visceral leishmaniasis induced by Leishmania infantum. On day 0, mice were infected intravenously with 4.