Innovation in pharmaceutics

FaculteitFaculty of Science

NiveauBachelor

Studiejaar2026-2027

Beschrijving

Course goals

The student can design and evaluate suitable 3D printed formulations, amorphous solid dispersions, nano-carriers, implants, gels and microspheres for various classes of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including hydrophobic small molecule drugs, proteins and nucleic acids;
The student can select a suitable type of advanced formulation for a specific dosage form to effectively administer the above-mentioned APIs to patients;
The student understands the (physical-chemical) preparation and manufacturing methods for the above-mentioned advanced formulations;
The student understands the fundamental physical-chemical methods to perform characterization and quality control for the above-mentioned advanced formulations;
The student can outline the different stages involved in translating advanced formulations from the initial design phase to their commercial exploitation.

Content

This course zooms in on the field of Pharmaceutics. Pharmaceutics research focuses on the processes and strategies that can be employed to turn (new) active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into a medication that can be safely and effectively administered to patients. Formulating pure drug substances into suitable dosage forms is in many cases necessary to achieve therapeutically (time-dependent) relevant API concentrations at targeted sites of action. The dosage form enhances for example the solubility, regulates the release profile and/or prevents (enzymatic) degradation of the API. Designing and fabricating advanced formulations requires a multi-disciplinary approach connecting the fields of material science and engineering, physical chemistry, nanotechnology and pharmacy.

Additional information

In this course you will be introduced to different types of advanced formulations. The theory and concepts underlying such formulations will be discussed during lectures and applied in tutorial sessions in the first 5 weeks. These lectures are subdivided in three different focus areas, namely:

Microspheres, implants and gels

You will gain knowledge for designing sustained release formulations based on microspheres, implants and gels. The theory for designing and characterizing such formulations will be given, including: polymer characteristics and degradation, emulsification, release modeling, particle characteristics, extrusion and gelation mechanisms.

3D printed formations and amorphous solid dispersions

You will learn about amorphous solid dispersions to overcome solubility issues of APIs and 3D printing technologies for individualized medicines as well as different formulation principles. Of special attention are the respective manufacturing processes.

Nano-carriers, including polymer micelles, polyplexes and liposomes

You will be introduced into nano-scale drug carriers based on (synthetic) polymers and learn why nano-sized carriers are potentially very efficient drug-delivery vehicles. The synthesis, self-assembly and physical-chemical characteristics of these particles and their polymeric building blocks will be the focus.

Followed by this lecture/tutorial series, your knowledge will be tested with an individual written exam (week 7).
The last part of the course (weeks 6 – 10) will be dedicated to a group project. Here, you will take on the challenge of designing your own advanced formulation for a specific API keeping the involved manufacturing process and specific patient-related requirements in mind. The results of these projects will be presented to and discussed with your fellow students.

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