Design of a buccal patch for delivery of a GLP-1 peptide

Delivery of peptides via non-injected routes remains an unmet medical need. Delivery across the cheek is attractive and has some advantages over oral including avoidance of a food effect and a lower first pass effect. We have discovered a permeation enhancer that can be incorporated into a buccal patch system (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33524502/) . The candidate will be tasked with designing a patch system based on a layer-by-layer construct with an adhesive, a layer of a model peptide: a Glucagon-like-1 (GLP-1) analogue, the enhancer, and a backing layer. The patch will be made synthetically and also by 3D printing. The hypothesis to test will be to design an optimised patch that will deliver sufficient peptide quickly and safely across isolated porcine buccal mucosae and then to assess bioavailability in anaesthetised pigs. The multi-disciplinary project will be supported by PI researchers based at NUI Galway and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.   Both of the supervising Professors are part of the SFI CÚRAM Centre for Medical Devices. The candidate will be working under the supervision of Prof. David Brayden (lead) and Eoin O’Cearbhaill  in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and UCD Conway Institute (DB) and the UCD School of Mechanical Engineering and Materials: https://people.ucd.ie/david.brayden and https://people.ucd.ie/eoin.ocearbhaill