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Chronic liver diseases cover a spectrum of pathologies headed by a process that involves a progressive destruction and regeneration of liver functional parts leading to fibrosis and then cirrhosis. Oral dosage forms can help to increase patient compliance significantly improving the course of such chronic disorders and lipid-based oral medications have been shown to be suitable candidates. The aim of this project is to develop and characterize novel oral lipid-based formulations for chronic liver pathologies by means of validated and optimized in vitro models. In order to select the most efficient excipients for novel phospholipid-based antifibrotic therapies, the role of single lipids is investigated by the screening of lipid components and thorough quantitative and qualitative analyses of their effect are performed at a molecular and cellular level. For more information: Pharmaceutics (2019) 11:676
Endometriosis and uterine fibroids are diseases of the female reproductive system that affect ~10 % and 25–50 % of women of reproductive age, respectively. They are characterized by chronic inflammation and fibrosis. Localized delivery to the female reproductive system has the potential to improve therapeutic efficacy, lessen side effects and reduce administration frequency compared to oral delivery. We develop vaginal dosage forms containing lipid nanocarriers with compounds repurposed for the treatment of endometriosis and study their effect on endometriotic cells in vitro.
For more information: Helv. Chim. Acta (2023) 106:e202200132; Eur. J. Pharm. Sci. (2023) 188:106501.
Liver fibrosis is the wound-healing response to chronic hepatic insults, often leading to the loss of organ function. It is characterized by the excessive deposition of scar tissue, a process driven by activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC). The broader aim of our research is to assess the impact of lipid-based therapeutics on extracellular vesicles isolated from hepatic cell lines, used as an in vitro model for the progression of liver fibrosis.
This project was financially supported by the Phospholipid Research Center.
For more information: (a) Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. (2021) 1865:12955; (b) Commun Biol (2022) 5:1155 (c) Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. (2023) 182:32-40.
The topic of this project is the development of a novel phospholipid-based depot formulation for sustained release of drugs. The main principle of the depot building is the aggregation of liposomes encapsulating a model drug. Besides the screening of appropriate formulations and the physico-chemical characterisation of the aggregates, the emphasis is the investigation of different encapsulation methods and following release studies. Another focus is the development of a novel manufacturing process and application system for this depot formulation compared to existing market products. Recently we reported about the lubricating properties of Zn-liposomal aggregates for intra-articular administration of rapamycin.
The project on subcutaneous administration was financially supported by the Phospholipid Research Center. For more information: Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces (2018) 168:10-17; Pharmaceutics (2020) 12, 567; Eur J Pharm Biopharm (2022) 181:300-309
Our study on osteoarthritis can be found here: J. Colloid Interface Sci. (2023) 650:1659-1670.
