Accepted Article This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1111/jam.13618 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Article type : Original Article Piper regnellii extract biopolymer-based microparticles: production, characterization and antifungal activity Lara Zampar Serra Brambilla a , Eliana Harue Endo a , Diógenes Aparício Garcia Cortez b , Marli Miriam de Souza Lima b , Benedito Prado Dias Filho b* a Post Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Science, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. b Department of Pharmacy, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. *Corresponding author: Benedito Prado Dias Filho. Department of Pharmacy, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Av. Colombo, 5790, bloco B-08, CEP: 87020-900, Maringá, Parana, Brazil. Tel/fax: +55-44-3011-5049. E-mail: bpdfilho@uem.br; ABSTRACT Aims: This study aims to improve characteristics of Piper regnellii extract to make it applicable in formulations to treat dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm. Methods and results: Microparticles were produced by spray-drying with gelatin, alginate and chitosan as encapsulating agents, characterized by scanning electron microscopy, encapsulation efficiency, thermal analyses, X-ray diffraction, and tested against Trichophyton rubrum by broth microdilution. Produced microparticles had a mean diameter less than 2 μm, an increase in stability and release of the extract and good results for encapsulation