IGERT Nanomedicine Science and Technology Distinguished Lecture

Date: 07/17/2007
Time: 10:30 am
Location: 106G West Village
Speaker: Dr. Ravi Kumar, Nanotechnology-Drug Delivery Group, INDIA, Department of Pharmaceutics & Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER)

Nanomedicines: The Promise of Nanoparticles in Oral Drug delivery

Nanomedicine is all about applying nanotechnology to prevent/treat human disorders. For an active compound to reach the target site from the site of administration in sufficient concentration, and to maintain therapeutic levels for a sufficient period of time, a delivery system is needed. These carriers are designed to overcome difficulties of treatment with conventional formulations/free drugs that frequently lead to inadequate therapeutic responses or even treatment failure. The oral route is the preferred route of drug delivery; however, numerous drugs remain poorly bio-available when administered by this route. The poor bioavailability could be due to one or more of the following reasons: (a) low mucosal permeability for the drug, (b) existence of absorption windows in the gastrointestinal tract for certain drugs undergoing carrier mediated transport, (c) low or very low solubility of the compound which results in low dissolution rate in the gastrointestinal fluids and thus elimination of a fraction of the drug in undissolved form from the alimentary canal, (d) lack of stability in the gastrointestinal environment, resulting in degradation of the compound prior to its absorption (e.g. peptides, oligonucleotides). Due their unique absorption mechanisms, nanoparticles are promising carriers for improving the oral bioavailability of such drugs. The inherent shortcomings of conventional drug delivery and the potential of nanoparticles as drug delivery systems have offered tremendous scope for researchers in this field and is moving from concept to reality. In this presentation, I would share some of our findings on nanomedicines in the areas of intervention of drug toxicity, hypertension, and Cancer.

Refreshments 10:15 AM

Seminar Series sponsored by the IGERT Nanomedicine Science and Technology Program:www.igert.neu.edu and the Electronic Materials Research Institute

For further information contact Rita Kaderian, r.kaderian@neu.edu.