Optimization of the processes for extraction and physicochemical characterization of extracts from Melipona quadrifasciata quadrifasciata (Mandaçaia) propolis for Drug Delivery Systems Development

• Grant number: 21/12890-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: March 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Patricia Targon Campana
• Grantee: Ana Beatriz Sanches Brito
• Supervisor: Roger Clive Hiorns
• Host Institution: Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux (IPREM), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/09173-9 - Use of UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies in the study of nanocomposites based on Melipona propolis quadrifasciata quadrifasciata and nanoargila haloisita for the development of advanced nanomaterials, BP.IC

Abstract

In this project, the extraction process of propolis produced by stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, from meliponarys located in three different regions (EACH/USP, São Paulo city, Cotia and Natividade da Serra, both countryside) will be improved by the use of Soxhlet technique and different solvents. The use of chemical and physicochemical methods will allow us to characterise the structural changes and determine the presence of biomolecules with pharmacological activity within the propolis: flavonoids, curcumins and coumarins, as well as their aggregation states. The fully characterised propolis extracts will be mixed with poly(ethylene oxide) e poly(fullerene) polymers to produce composite films for drug delivery systems development. (AU)