Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

Project 1:Development of muco-penetrating particles for enhancement of mucosal drug delivery The use of drug delivery technologies that improve drug pharmacokinetics and facilitate local drug delivery to target tissues can enhance the efficacy of various drug therapies. Drug delivery to target mucosal surfaces such as those of the lungs, GI tract, nose, eye etc. is of great interest however, the viscous, elastic and the sticky nature of mucus present in these target sites make drug delivery challenging as the mucus could trap and clear foreign particles such as conventional drug and gene nanocarriers from these surfaces. Mucus-penetrating particles (MPP) avoids rapid mucus clearance and/or reach the underlying epithelia where the drug is required or absorbed. MPP offer advantages of sustained drug delivery at the mucosal surfaces therefore providing improved efficacy and reduced therapeutic side effects. This is achieved by several methods such as modification of particle surface or by disrupting the mucus barrier with chemicals such as N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC). This research aims to develop muco-penetrating particles to enhance mucosal delivery of drugs and macromolecules Keywords: Drug delivery, Muco-penetrating particles (MPP), nanoparticles, mucolytic Project 2:Development of novel mucoadhesive drug delivery systems Drug delivery systems directly targeted to the organs or absorption membrane for local or systemic delivery enhances the therapeutic efficacy of the delivered drug. One of the strategies used in drug targeting is mucoadhesive drug delivery. Mucosal layers are found in various regions of the body including the eyes, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and the reproductive tract. These mucoadhesive devices adhere to mucosal layers maintaining an intimate contact with the surface while delivering its drug contents in a controlled manner for local effect or for transmucosal absorption. This direct delivery offers several advantages such as the ability to directly target local disorders such as infections, thereby enhancing the therapeutic effect, reduction of accumulation of drugs in areas where they are not required and minimising side effects. Current research have been focused on the use of mucoadhesive polymers, which have weak and non–specific interactions with mucosal layers, and in most cases such interactions are inadequate for localization of a drug delivery device to a target mucosal site. Therefore, there is increasing interest in the development of mucoadhesive polymers, which have stronger and more specific (site-specific) interactions with mucosal target sites. The aim of this research is to develop novel mucoadhesive polymers that can be used in the design of targeted buccal, nasal and gastroretentive drug delivery systems for treatment of disorders such as oropharyngeal candidiasis, allergic rhinitis and Helicobacter-pylori infection. Keywords: Mucoadhesive polymers, site-specific delivery, buccal delivery, nasal delivery, mucus model Project 3: Pharmaceutical applications of natural polymers Natural materials are playing an increasing role as alternatives to synthetic pharmaceutical excipients. This is due to their biocompatibility, low cost, and relative abundance. These natural polymers are now being widely used in the pharmaceutical industry as polymers in various drug delivery systems. Examples of such polymers include sodium alginate, guar gum, chitosan, gum karaya etc. This project involves the extraction and characterization of different plant based polymers. In addition, these polymers will be assessed against commercially available polymers in their native form or with some modification to tailor their use for various pharmaceutical applications.