089612     BIOMEDICAL PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (5 CFU)
Prof. Davide Moscatelli

Course Content

This course provides an introduction to drug delivery and targeting and it is mainly focused on the synthesis of polymer nanoparticles. In particular chemical aspects involved in the synthesis of nanoparticles, drug loading, nanoparticle functionalization and degradation will be addressed.

Content includes:

n    Introduction to the Course, Drug Delivery and Targeting

n    The Chemistry of Polymeric Systems: reactivity of molecules. Nucleophilic and electrophilic groups, acids and bases, functional groups, charged molecules and radicals.

n    The Use of Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery and Targeting

n    Analytical Techniques for Polymer Characterization: GPC, HPLC, NMR, Light Scattering, MALDI-TOF

n    Base Principles of Radical Polymerization

n    Free Radical Polymerization (FRP) in Bulk and Solution

n    Living Polymerization: ROP, RAFT, ATRP, NMP, ROMP, the Peculiar Case of Polyalchylcianoacrylates

n    Chemical and Physical Methods to Synthesize NPs: emulsion free radical polymerization, emulsion-evaporation, and nanoprecipitation.

n    Synthesis of Biodegradable Polymer Nanoparticles via ROP and FRP

n    Drug Loading: Lypophilic Active-Principles

n    Nanoparticle Degradation and Drug Release

n    Nanoparticle Functionalization and Targeting

n    Delivery of Hydrophylic Compounds. Monoclonal Antibodies

The course will be assessed on the basis of a submitted project report and on an optional oral defense of it.