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NANYANG INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTH & MEDICINE

Ph. D Project Proposal for IGS @ NITHM

Each proposal must satisfy the following requirements:

1)One Supervisor and one Co-Supervisor (Co-Supervisor must be from another School; can be Adjuncts)

2)One clinician collaborator is highly recommended
3)Length of proposal should be capped within 2 pages
Programme: / Diagnostic Medical Devices / X-omics
Therapeutic Medical Devices / Medical Imaging and Signal Analysis
x Nanomedicine / Drug Discovery, Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology
Tissue Engineering / Health Systems Complexity
Project Topic: / Fundamental studies of sustained release from Nanocarriers
Supervisor: / Subbu Venkatraman / School/College: / MSE
Co-Supervisor: / Rupesh Aggrawal / School/College: / TTSH
Clinician Collaborator: / Tina Wong / Institution: / SERI
Is research funding available for the project? / xYes / No

Scope of the Project

Present scope of the project that the student will address
Sustained release of drugs is difficult to achieve from nanocarriers, because of their small size and the large surface-to-volume ratio. We have achieved sustained release in vitro of about 45 days from a nanoliposomal formulation. In animal and human studies the effect of this nanocarrier-drug lasts for up to 6 months, which is unexpected. In this project, we will undertake fundamental studies of how the drug is released in vivo, and the mechanism of clearance of the drug from the eye. The biodistribution of the injected nanocarrier will also be studied in relation to its clearance. The student will also explore the general principles of sustained efficacy of action of nanocarriers within the eye.

STATAMENT OF NEED

Describe medical problem that the project will attempt to address
Many nanocarrier applications are currently limited by the inability to control how the bioactive molecule (drug/protein/siRNA) is released from the nanocarrier. Understanding the principle governing the drug loading into nanocarriers, and their efflux is crucial to extending nanomedicine applications beyond cancer therapy. This project aims to identify the factors (nanocarrier type, drug type, size) that influence loading of drug and its rate of release. Such understanding will enable the design of drug delivery systems to address cardiovascular and ocular diseases.

Proposed Solution

Describeproposed solution to the medical problem
Our proposed solution is the identification of the factors governing sustained release over a month to several months, in nanocarrier systems. Additionally, this project will study the biodistribtuion of the nanocarriers following administration into the eye or the skin, so that the mchanisms of clearance may be identified and quantified for various nanocarrier types. Liposomes, solid nanoparticles and degradable nanoparticles will be studied in this project. This understanding will be the basis for the design of useful drug delivery systems at the nanoscale.