84926 - Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology and Medical Devices

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will be able to know the differences between the different pharmaceutical formulations in relation to the characteristics of the excipients and the preparation methods, the correlations between the drug release and the administration environment, the evaluation methods of drug release and bioavailability. The student will be able moreover to prepare and evaluate innovative pharmaceutical formulations such as liposomes, micro and nanoparticulate systems , micellar and macromolecular carriers.

Course contents

Bioavailability and pharmacokinetics
Pharmaceutical dosage forms and pharmaceutical systems. Factors influencing drug absorption and drug availability. Pharmacokinetics. Plasma concentration –time curves. Absolute bioavailability. Relative bioavailability. Bioequivalence. Dose size and frequency of administration.
Physico-chemical processes that control drug release and drug absorption. Passive diffusion through a membrane. Partition coefficient. Dissolution. Solubility. Thermodynamic parameters. Enhanced solubility. Micellisation. Salification. Complexation.
Conventional drug delivery systems. Formulative and preparative aspects correlable with the administration route and the release characteristics. Characteristics of the excipients. Powders, Granules, Tablets, Capsules, Solutions, Suspensions, Emulsions, Ointments, Hydrogels, Lipogels, Pastes.
Controlled drug delivery systems. Physico-chemical properties of the excipients correlable with the release characteristics.
Diffusion controlled devices. Characteristics of the excipients. Monolithic devices. Reservoir devices. Solvent controlled devices. Osmotically controlled devices. Swelling controlled devices. Chemically controlled devices.

Nanosystems for drug targeting
Drug targeting. Passive targeting. Active targeting. Physical targeting. Polymeric nanoparticulate systems, solid lipid nanoparticles dendrimers, liposomes, macromolecular systems and self-assembling polymers. Gene-delivery systems. Physico-chemical characteristics of the drug-delivery systems, preparation technology and functiona characteristics.

Medical devices and their classification

Laboratory: Emulsions, Creams, Hydrogels, Lipogels, Emulgels, Liposomes, Granules, Tablets, Capsules, Suppositories.

Readings/Bibliography

1) SWARBRICK, BOYLAN, Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology, Dekker 2) Edizioni in vigore delle Farmacopee Italiana e Europea.

Teaching methods

lessons and laboratory activity

Assessment methods

The Assessment of the course occurs only with the final exam, which ensures the acquisition of knowledge and skills expected by conducting a written test.
The final exam test is intended to verify the achievement of the following objectives:

Knowledge of the main functional differences among the different pharmaceutical formulations in relation to the physico-chemical characteristics of the excipients and the preparative methods. Correlations between drug release and administration environment. Evaluation methods for drug release. Correlations between release kinetics and bioavailability. Methods to improve bioavailability. Preparative methods for micro/nano particulate drug delivery systems and their functional evaluation.

The written test will consist of 32-34 questions with multiple choice answer or true/false choice. It will last 2 hours.  

Teaching tools

power point slides

Office hours

See the website of Isabella Orienti