Drug delivery
The aim of our drug delivery research is to optimize the bioavailability of drug compounds by innovative formulation development.
Our overall hypothesis is that intrinsic drug delivery of drug candidates may be manipulated by chemical and/or excipient formulation strategies aiming to:
- increase drug candidate solubility in biofluids such as intestinal fluid
- increase drug stability in the formulation and in biofluids
- increase drug candidate permeability across biomembranes, such as the small intestinal membrane
- increase drug candidate delivery to the pharmacological target
- decrease drug candidate metabolism, and/or decrease its elimination.
Solubility in biofluids may be influenced by salt or prodrug formation, for example, or by the formation of excipient-drug-candidate complexes. Stability can be optimized by using excipients such as detergents, or by freeze-drying the formulation for long-term storage. It is possible to increase permeability across biomembranes by designing drug candidates as drugs or prodrugs that are substrates for absorptive membrane transporters, or by developing lipid or particulate drug-excipient systems such as emulsions, liposomes and nano particles that influence permeability. Increased delivery to pharmacological targets can also be influenced by pH or enzyme sensitive controlled release formulations based on either chemical or excipient formulation strategies. First pass metabolism in the liver and elimination of drug candidates can be influenced by designing them as non-substrates for metabolizing enzymes, or as substrates for reuptake transporters, or by applying excipients that are regulators for efflux transporters or metabolizing enzymes, or by using alternative administration routes.
