Ph.D. on Biopharmaceutics-Pharmacokinetics

Research Projects

1. Caterina Como
   New formulations for antitumor drugs oral administration in adjuvant chemoterapy
   Anticancer drugs are commonly administred by intravenously injections because of their narrow therapeutic index. Antitumors are also, in the most of cases, poor water soluble molecules. To improve their low bioavailability and act a controlled release it is possible to use drug delivery systems like matrices and/or nanosystems.


 

2. Irene Pasquali
   Particulate systems drug/hydrophilic polymers obtained with supercritical carbon dioxide
   

The use of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) to process various biodegradable/biocompatible polymers for pharmaceutical and medical applications has generated a great interest in the last two decades. The advantages in the use of supercritical fluids technology to produce new drug delivery systems are the high versatility, the flexibility in offering alternative processing approaches.
 

3. Marzia Marciello
   Innovative systems for mucosal and transmucosal drug administration


The aim of the present research is the development of innovative drug delivery systems intended for buccal and vaginal administration to obtain a local or systemic action of the drug loaded. They are based on chitosan or its derivatives or on other natural polymers (such as hyaluronic acid). These formulations should allow an easy drug administration, a prolonged drug contact with the mucosa, an improvement of drug permeation/penetration through/into mucosa in order to obtain, depending on the therapeutic target, a more effective local action or systemic absorption of the drug.
 

4. Simona Motta
   Chemical-physical characterization of new nanoparticles carriers for drug delivery


Aim of this work is the analysis and the charactherization of chemical-physical features of nano and microparticles suitable for drug delivery and their following transformation into macroscopic agglomerates. Particular attention will be used for the analysis of physical features (like internal structure, surface charge, dimensions) that affect encapsulation capability and release of nanoparticles composed by lechitin and chitosan.
 
5. Chiara Parlati
   Respirable microparticle of aminoglicosidic antibiotic for pulmonary administration

Local therapy with inhaled suffering from chronic respiratory infections with opportunistic bacterial patogens. The objectives of the research is the innovation in pulmonary delivery of drug for the treatment of local inflammatory disease. In particular, the aim of this study is to investigate the pulmonary administration of aminoglicosidic antibiotics as dry powder inhaler to offer an effective alternative to the nebulization.
 
6. Orazio Luca Strusi
   Innovation in oral administration of the drugs: assembling of modules for drug release in controlled release systems for administer combination drugs

The aim of this research is to develop a new system for the administration of two drugs that are used in combination for malaria therapy. Thank to Dome Matrix^® technology is possible to made a system compose by different module, containing different drugs, with different kinetics. In this manner it is possible optimize the therapy and increase the compliance of the patiences by reducing the number of tablet units for single administration.
 
7. Benedetta Vietti
   Formulation studies for follicular drug delivery

The aim of this work is to develop new formulations for follicular drug delivery, both for topical application (follicular targeting) and for sistemic administration (transfollicular delivery).
 
8. Ilaria Salvadeo
   Preformulation studies of site-specific and prolonged release systems of vancomycin and teicoplanin

The aim of this work is to prepare systems for a site-specific prolonged release of peptidic antibiotics such as vancomycin and teicoplanin for the treatment of bone infections like osteomyelitis. To achieve this purpose salts or physical mixtures with others antibiotics will be used. Other studies claims possible use of appropriates excipients like hydrophobic cyclodextrins as controlled release carriers.
 
9. Anna Giulia Balducci

Drug delivery systems based on various assemblies of Dome Matrix^® modules
 
10. Marco Beniamino Pranzo
    Cocrystallization for improving biopharmaceutical properties of drugs

The research project aims at the formation of pharmaceutical cocrystals (crystalline molecular complexes) involving the incorporation of a given API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) with another pharmaceutically acceptable molecule (cocrystal former, CCF) in the crystal lattice. The resulting multi-component crystal will posses a distinct physico-chemical profile, potentially enabling improvements in properties such as solubility, melting point or physical stability. In particular, the increase of the solubility of low solubility API can increase the dissolution rate and therefore improve the API bioavailability; while the reduction of the solubility of high solubility API can allow the preparation of controlled release dosage forms.
 
11. Roberto Tozzi

Use of supercritical carbon dioxide for the preparation of drug polymorphs for the optimization of their technological and biopharmaceutical properties
The work is aimed investigating innovative technologies based on supercritical CO₂ for the production of new solid phases of drugs and to characterise these new phases from the physico-chemical, technological and biopharmaceutical points of view. The final purpose of this research is to optimize and to improve some pharmaceutical products' quality, to guarantee higher efficacy and safety.
 
12. Sara Gibin

Use of cellular culture models for the evaluation of innovative materials and formulative parameters in the development of therapeutic systems designed to ophtalmic and mucosal applications
Research project objective is the evaluation and validation of in vitro models, represented by cellular cultures and possibly reconstructed tissue 3D, predictive of in vivo behaviour, to be used in the very early phases of the formulative development. As the main interest of the project is about the formulative aspects, attention will be focussed especially on new excipients, and on formulative parameters. Among the new excipients, in particular new polymeric derivatives will be studied, for example those obtained by derivatization and combinations/salifications of already known polymers with molecules able to promote absorption or to inhibit drug degrading enzymes.