About the Project
Probiotics are live bacteria that reside in human intestinal tract and provide numerous beneficial effects. Oral delivery of probiotics is viewed as an efficient therapeutic strategy to improve gut health. Probiotics are currently used in the treatment of diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease, and ulcerative colitis. This project will be focused on the development of microencapsulated forms of live probiotic bacteria that will facilitate their survival during transit through the low pH of the stomach, when administered via oral route. This highly interdisciplinary project will provide an excellent training opportunity in microencapsulation technologies, microbiological methods and formulation science. The student will benefit from collaborative research performed between the Department of Pharmacy and the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences.
You will join successful multidisciplinary group of researchers, providing lots of training and career opportunities. See our web site https://www.reading.ac.uk/pharmacy/about/staff/v-khutoryanskiy.aspx and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vk_group_rsop
Our recent publications in this area:
1. Albadran H., Chatzifragkou A., Khutoryanskiy V.V., Charalampopoulos D. Stability of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum in dry microcapsules under accelerated storage conditions, Food Research International, 74, 208-216 (2015), http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996915300053
2. Cook M.T., Tzortsis G., Charalampopoulos D., Khutoryanskiy V.V. Microencapsulation of a synbiotic into PLGA/alginate multiparticulate gels, Int. J. Pharm., 466 (1), 400-408 (2014), http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517314001860
3. Cook M.T., Saratoon T., Tzortzis G., Edwards A.D., Charalampopoulos D., Khutoryanskiy V.V. A CLSM method for the dynamic observation of pH change within polymer matrices for oral delivery, Biomacromolecules, 14, 387–393 (2013), http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bm301569r
4. Cook M.T., Tzortzis G., Khutoryanskiy V.V., Charalampopoulos D. Layer-by-layer coating of alginate matrices with chitosan-alginate for the improved survival and targeted delivery of probiotic bacteria after oral administration, J. Mater. Chem. B, 1, 52-60 (2013), http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2013/tb/c2tb00126h
Funding Notes
We welcome applications from self-funded students worldwide for this project.
Eligibility:
• Applicants should hold or expect to gain a minimum of a 2:1 Bachelors Degree in pharmacy, food science, materials science, microbiology, chemistry, biomedical engineering or a related discipline.
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