Lukas Vaut

PhD defence: Lukas Vaut

TitleAdditive Manufacturing and Characterization of Mini-Devices for Oral Drug Delivery

Time and place: 29 April 2019, at 13:00

Place: Building 341, auditorium 22

Principal supervisorProfessor Anja Boisen

Co supervisor: Associate Professor Guido Tosello
Co supervisor: Kristian Ejlebjærg Jensen

 

Examiners:

Associate Professor Rafael Taboryski, DTU Nanolab

Professor Henning Ziedler, Technische Universität Bergakadamie Freiberg

Professor Gregory Nordin, Brigham Young University

 

Chairperson at defence: TBA

 

Abstract:

 

Most of the time when we are sick, we would probably think: “Keep calm and take a pill”. But what if there is no pill? And what is the alternative? Many people have to go through painful injections, sometimes even multiple times on a daily basis, because the medicine they need is not available for oral ingestion. This is due to the fact that many drugs, especially biomolecules (e.g. insulin for diabetes treatment), are very susceptible to the harsh environmental conditions present in the gastro-intestinal tract, and are, for example, destroyed and inactivated. After all, the function of the gastro-intestinal tract is to chemically and enzymatically degrade ingested nutrients, making them readily available for absorption into the blood stream, and to protect from ingested pathogens and toxins. The unfortunate consequence for oral drug delivery is that many drugs fail to be absorbed in their active form and thus do not produce a pharmacological effect. Microfabricated carrier devices, such as microcontainers, which serve to protect the drug from the gastro-intestinal environment and to transport the drug to their absorption site have been suggest as a potential solution to cope with this challenge. 


The objective of this PhD project was to implement 3D printing technology as a tool for the rapid prototyping of different sizes and shapes of carrier devices in order to improve their functionality and consequently their aptitude for oral drug delivery. After developing a particular 3D printing workflow based on the use of exchangeable sacrificial release substrates, we were able to realize the fabrication of several different designs. Following the characterization of the latter for their mucoadhesive (adhesion to the intestinal mucosa) properties, obtained results indicate that only by tailoring the design of the devices, drastic improvements of their mucoadhesiveness can be reached. Mucoadhesion was a desired property in this case, as it promotes a longer intestinal residence time and keeps the drug close to the intestinal mucosa, which is the absorption site. All in all, the conducted research reveals that 3D printing is a method with high potential for the fabrication of oral drug delivery devices

 

Tidspunkt

man 29 apr 19
13:00 - 16:00

Arrangør

Hvor

Bldg. 341, auditorium 22