Pharmaceutics: Drug and Vaccine Delivery Systems and Nanomedicine
This field encompasses research activities that focus on the design, physicochemical characterization and in vitro and in vivo testing of novel systems for drug and vaccine delivery. Research in this field extends from the synthesis and characterization of the building blocks, pharmaceutical excipients and other biomaterials of pharmaceutical dosage forms to the in vitro and in vivo assessment of newly developed delivery systems. Specific areas include liquid, semi-solid and controlled-release dosage forms and lipid-, surfactant-, polymer-, dendrimer-, peptide-, phage- and carbon nanotube-based soft material delivery platforms.
This field also explores nanomedicines, i.e., drugs and drug delivery and targeting systems that function in the nanometre size range. At this scale, drug particles and delivery systems acquire unique properties that can enhance therapeutic effectiveness, delivery efficiency and specificity. Nanoparticles are resistant to sedimentation and can have enhanced adhesion to biological surfaces and the ability to nondestructively penetrate cells, providing rapid onset of therapeutic action, improved bioavailability and targeted delivery.
Additionally, a subsection of pharmaceutics is inherently related to pharmaceutical manufacturing and pharmaceutical engineering, which includes development of novel methods for formulation, fabrication and manufacturing of pharmaceutical and vaccine dosage forms and products. This latter research is also concerned with process improvements to upscale small-scale drug formulation processes to industrial production levels without losing effectiveness, while improving the cost and efficiency of delivery and manufacturing.
Drug Design: Molecular Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics and Toxicology
This field includes the area of molecular pharmacology intended to elucidate the molecular basis of disease and the development of novel drug targets, leading to rational drug design and medicinal chemistry, which, in turn, take into consideration principles from pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and toxicology. Therefore, this field also includes research into physiologically-based pharmacokinetic models and simulation techniques to develop more accurate pharmaceutical dosing and more optimized drug therapies.