Next-Gen Drug Delivery: Microfluidic Encapsulation of Biologics into Smart Nanocarriers

About the Project

Provide a brief description of the project

Progress in drug design has led to the development of new peptides, proteins, and drug molecules. However, the limited ability to deliver selectively these molecules at well-defined dosing regimens and without invoking drug-resistance remains a significant challenge. Therefore, the development of effective therapies relies on the development of effective carriers that can mitigate these challenges. The use of carriers such as lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), prevents a variety of proteases from early degradation of the protein-based molecules. The initial step of encapsulation within an LNP also provides the opportunity for future membrane modification. This would open the door to a higher capacity for targeted delivery or altering pharmacokinetic parameters such as residence time. Microfluidics (MFs) can be considered as a far greener process compared to other methods currently used by companies, not only by the reduced number of materials, but also the time (and hence subsequent energy exposure) taken for formulation. MFs allows the production of encapsulated NPs with predictable sizes and PDI with the need for minimal post processing. This aspect means that a pharmacopoeia grade formulation can be produced in a short and economically viable way. The aim of this Ph.D. project, which includes formulation, scalability of the MF platform, computational modelling, in vitro and (potentially) in vivo studies, is the development of formulations for the successful delivery of biologics, which could be subject to extensive metabolism or clearance post-administration, which highlights the need for alternative formulation suing MFs. The goal is to develop and optimise a method to successfully delivering a range of biopharmaceutical molecules.

Training that will be provided through the research project

The techniques that will be used during the project cover a wide-range and include microfluidics, Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and In Vitro Release Studies. Transferrable skill training will also include research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking, team working and career management.

Expected impact activities

The techniques that will be used during the project cover a wide-range and include microfluidics, Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and In Vitro Release Studies. Transferrable skill training will also include research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking, team working and career management.

Funding Notes

This project is not funded; applications are welcome from self-funding candidates.

References

Nanomedicine, Microfluidics, Lipid Nanoparticles, Biotherapeutics, Cancer, Drug delivery