College: Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Germany

Email: sarah-strack@gmx.de

Thesis topic: Behavior of nano particulate delivery systems in cell culture

Co-supervisors: Prof. Ian Tucker (School of Pharmacy, University of Otago) and Jasper Chiu (School of Pharmacy, University of Otago)

Project description:

Formulations of PECA (Polyethylcyanoarcylate) nanoparticles are established as promising drug delivery systems for oral drugs, which typically have low bioavailabilities.

Modifying nanoparticles with cell-penetrating-peptides (CPPs) can enhance cellular uptake and the oral bioavailability of poorly absorbed drugs.  The cellular uptake of nanoparticulates is heavily dependent on the amount of particles presented to the cell(s).  Therefore, it is important to determine the behaviour of the nanoparticles in the cell culture medium (such as aggregation, sedimentation and diffusion) to be able to accurately predict the amount of particles that the cells are exposed to, which later allows a more accurate conclusion of cellular uptake.

To achieve this aim, I will be characterizing the PECA nanoparticle in cell culture media and measuring the cellular uptake of radioactive tagged nanoparticles in Caco-2 cells.