Project Portugal 2030

Summary

The BIGGEST IDEA of this project is to develop a magnetic-driven drug delivery system that is rheologically compatible with human blood characteristics and can release the substance on demand in any place of the human circulatory system. The MAIN QUESTION to be solved is to elucidate which is the optimal magnetic Pickering emulsion able to travel through the viscoelastic characteristics of human blood and how the magnetic field can break the stability of the suspension to release the drug inside the human body. This research will contribute to the state of the art in the field of drug delivery systems for biomedical applications with a direct IMPACT in the TECHNOLOGY opening a NEW DOOR in the development of new treatments since it is directed to improve and maximise the efficiency to achieve the target of the drug when it is travelling along the main human conduits, as well as to reduce the impact due to their presence inside the patient body. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that, up to date, there are NO WORKS conducted to find the optimal rheological formulation of magnetic Pickering emulsion compatible with human blood properties based on a complete magnetorheological characterisation under shear and extensional flows, including interfacial rheology. The important CHALLENGE of this research proposal is to provide the scientific and industrial communities with a practical guideline for fabricating an optimised magnetically targeted drug release system. Moreover, the micro hydrodynamics of the Pickering emulsions and their performance in locating and releasing the drug will be assessed. A state-of-the-art experimental setup will be constructed, based on the team members' knowledge, to mimic the functionality of the magnetic Pickering emulsion to locate the critical point and deliver the desired substance. All this will be done in a microfluidic chip placed in an inverted microscope under the action of magnetic fields to perform the flow dynamics characterisation using the following techniques: flow visualisation (streak line photography), Particle Image Velocimetry (µ-PIV) and pressure drop measurements. Achieving precise control over drug release dynamics and achieving sustained release profiles while maintaining stability and biocompatibility is complex. Addressing potential toxicity, immunogenicity, and long-term biocompatibility with human blood requires thorough preclinical evaluation and optimisation of the emulsion formulation. The proposed research constitutes a HIGH-RISK/HIGH-GAIN project as it involves, at the same time, efficient magnetic Pickering emulsions in the sense of being easily controlled and easy to lead to the delivery point, with the fact of being biocompatible with human blood. However, due to this AMBITIOUS objective, inherently associated risks would appear. These risks will be controlled by defining adequate backup plans (Table 1 in annexes). Nevertheless, successful outcomes could significantly improve drug delivery efficiency, therapeutic efficacy, and patient outcomes. Magnetic Pickering emulsions for drug delivery represent a multidisciplinary research area that combines expertise from medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, materials science, nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and biotechnology to develop innovative solutions for improving drug delivery efficiency and treatment therapies across different disciplines.