Analysis of soft matter gels during dissolution of solid oral pharmaceutical products by magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

Supervisors: Steven Brown (Physics), Maria Adobes Vidal (Novartis)

Reliable drug release or dissolution from solid oral dosage forms is paramount to deliver consistent quality and therapeutic efficacy. The drug release is a complex, multistep process, wherein the formation of a gel-like barrier at the solid-liquid interface is a frequently observed challenge that impacts the desired drug release behavior/performance. This results in laborious formulation optimization cycles, inadequate formulation designs and suboptimal analytical quality control.

A key question for adequate formulation design is the role of molecular interactions in gel formation. In this project, you will develop solid-state NMR methods that make use of state-of-the-art magic-angle spinning (MAS) technology to characterize the gelling phenomenon in pharmaceutical formulations. Understanding the structure and dynamics of gel formation at atomic level will enable a rapid response to formulations challenges and promote the development of novel pharmaceutical products to improve people´s life.

Start date: Monday, 26 September 2022

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