Engineering smart drug delivery systems using thermal and electrohydrodynamic nanofabrication (QISU18SF) at University of East Anglia on FindAPhD.com

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Dr S Qi No more applications being accepted

About the Project

Controlled and targeted drug delivery can significantly benefit the patient adherence to treatment and improve the overall therapeutic outcomes. The majority of controlled release and targeted drug products used in clinic are matrix based systems and rely on the response of the materials in the formulation to control the rate and site of drug release. The lack of a complex 3D architecture at the micro and nano scale of current products is largely a result of the limitations of conventional manufacturing methods. Thermal and electrohydrodynamic processes including FDM 3D printing, electrospinning and electrospraying have been widely used in other industries such as prototype production and semiconductor production. With the emergence of these micro and nanofabrication methods adapted for pharmaceutical manufacturing, a fuller understanding of how micro and nanostructures of formulations can control the delivery of drugs is crucial for realising the full potential of these novel fabrication methods [i-iii]. This PhD project will explore the use of the interior and surface architectures of solid formulations prepared by the novel hybrid fabrication method of FDM 3D printing and electrohydrodynamic method to regulate the release of therapeutic agents. The project will involve both creating formulations with complex micro and nanostructures via novel fabrication methods along with structural characterisation and drug release modelling. This project offers an excellent opportunity to interact with a multi-disciplinary network of our existing collaborators working in the field of pharmaceutical research and product development. The outcome of the project will provide valuable contribution to the field of controlled drug delivery via spatial microstructure design.

For more information on the supervisor for this project, please go here: https://www.uea.ac.uk/pharmacy/people/profile/sheng-qi
Type of programme: PhD
Star date of project: October 2018
Mode of study: Full time

Acceptable first degree: Pharmaceutical Sciences, Material Sciences, biomedical engineering and related subjects
The standard minimum entry requirement is 2:1.

Funding Notes

This PhD project is offered on a self-funding basis. It is open to applicants with funding or those applying to funding sources. Details of tuition fees can be found at http://www.uea.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/fees-and-funding.

A bench fee is also payable on top of the tuition fee to cover specialist equipment or laboratory costs required for the research. The amount charged annually will vary considerably depending on the nature of the project and applicants should contact the primary supervisor for further information about the fee associated with the project.

References

i) Sridhar R, Lakshminarayanan R, Madhaiyan K, Amutha Barathi V, Lim KH, Ramakrishna S. Electrosprayed nanoparticles and electrospun nanofibers based on natural materials: applications in tissue regeneration, drug delivery and pharmaceuticals. Chem Soc Rev. 2015 Feb 7;44(3):790-814. doi: 10.1039/c4cs00226a.
ii) P Tipduangta, Peter Belton, L Fábián, L Wang, H Tang, M Eddleston, and S Qi. Electrospun Polymer Blend Nanofibers for Tunable Drug Delivery: The Role of Transformative Phase Separation on Controlling the Release Rate. Mol Pharmaceutics, 2016, 13(1) 25-39
iii) Alhijjaj, M., Belton, P., Qi, S. (2016) An investigation into the use of polymer blends to improve the printability of and regulate drug release from pharmaceutical solid dispersions prepared via fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing, in European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics 108 pp. 111–125

Where will I study?

University of East Anglia

We’re one of the UK’s leading research institutions, ranked 10th in the UK for the quality of our research outputs and with more than 1,500 research students.

Engineering smart drug delivery systems using thermal and electrohydrodynamic nanofabrication (QISU18SF)

University of East Anglia School of Pharmacy