SLVKA0342U Research Project in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery

Volume 2018/2019
Education

MSc Programme in Pharmaceutical Sciences (MPS line II)- compulsory

Content

Problem-oriented and case-based teaching.

Students work in groups of 3 to 4 on a research project dealing with selected aspects of pre-formulation, formulation and testing of types of drugs. Advisers provide students with a project topic and students are then expected to conduct independent literature studies, formulate the project together with the process adviser, conduct practical laboratory work, and practise making a presentation in a discussion class mid-way through the course. The project is concluded by a project report and subsequent individual oral examination.
The project starts with a planning phase, in which the groups define the project. Then the groups draft research protocols, which includes purpose of the experiment, materials and methods, a detailed step by step procedure, as well as statistical deliberations. The research protocol will be discussed with- and approved by the adviser prior to experimental start. The nature of the laboratory work will vary from project to project, but may consist of method setup, pre-formulation studies and testing in vitro. The students will make ongoing laboratory journals to give them practice in process evaluation. All students must contribute equally to the group work.
Mid-way through the course, a discussion class will be held where each project group present their project and its current status in PowerPoint format. The advisers will participate and provide the students with constructive feed-back in order to prepare for the final exam.
At the end of the course each group will write up a project report based on literature studies and the research conducted. The report is expected to be build up as a scientific paper containing an abstract, introduction, materials and methods, reults, discussion, and a conclusion.

Learning Outcome

To introduce the students to selected aspects of drug formulation, drug delivery as well as pre-clinical studies via a laboratory-based development project.

At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:

  • independently plan and conduct research within the fields of drug formulation, drug delivery, and preclinical testing
  • present and discuss the project and the exterminental outcome in a project report resembling a scientific paper
  • orally present and discuss the project and the experimental outcome
Literature
  • M.E.Aulton, Pharmaceutics, The Design and Manufacture of Medicines, 4th edition, Churchill Livingstone Elsevier 2013.
  • A.T. Florence and D. Attwood, Physicochemical Principles of Pharmacy, 6th edition, Pharmaceutical Press 2015.
  • Original research articles and review articles, research papers, selected by students.
  • Guidelines for the Research Project in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery (Department of Pharmaceutics and Analytical Chemistry, 2009), Torben Schæfer, Jørn Møller-Sonnergaard and Birger Brodin.
Non
Course teaching is based on the assumption that students have taken the course entitled Pharmaceutics and Drug Development, and have acquired knowledge corresponding to the content of the subjects Pharmacology, Organic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry.
Three lectures, 96 hours of laboratory work, 40 hours of discussion classes, etc. (for a total of 413 hours).
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Colloquia
  • 40
  • Lectures
  • 3
  • Practical exercises
  • 96
  • Preparation
  • 273
  • Total
  • 412
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Course participation
Oral examination
The student is assessed on the basis of satisfactory participation in laboratory work and discussion classes, satisfactory effort in connection with designing the laboratory portfolio and written report, as well as on the basis of an oral assessment on the project report.

At the end of the course students draw up a project report and turn it in to the adviser and external examiner. Then each student will do an oral assessment, which consists of a 10-minute oral presentation of parts of the project report, followed by a 10-minute discussion of the contents of the report.
Aid
Written aids allowed

and approved pocket calculator.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Criteria for exam assesment

A well-structured project report and a clearly and precisely formulated presentation. The student demonstrates a firm grasp of the research and topics covered in the project report. In the course of the project, the student has demonstrated serious commitment as well as the ability to cooperate with the rest of the group, and has taken the initiative in designing the tests, finding specialised literature and preparing the report.

To achieve the grade 12 the student must be able to:

Knowledge

  • understand important concepts and methods in drug formulation, drug delivery, and in vitro testing
  • explain general chemical, physical-chemical and pharmacokinetic characteristics of drug formulations
  • demonstrate which pharmaceutical assessments should be made of the drug formulations produced.

 

Skills

  • plan and conduct research concerning drug formulation with regard to physical-chemical and pharmaceutical characterization as well as  technical production aspects
  • draft and present written documentation of the work carried out in the form of laboratory portfolios and the project report.
  • orally present relevant theories related to the project field and critically discuss the experimental outcome

 

Competences

  • conduct a pharmaceutical assessment of the type of drug in question by selecting relevant equipment and tests
  • conduct a pilot-scale formulation study