Inside the Labcoat
EPISODE 3
Nanoparticles for Overcoming Natural Barriers in Drug Delivery
With Dr Alessandra Pinna
About the Guest
Dr. Alessandra Pinna is a pharmaceutical chemist whose research focuses on the design, synthesis, and characterization of nanoparticles for biomedical applications. She began her academic journey at the University of Sassari, where she studied Pharmaceutical Chemistry before completing a PhD in Nanochemistry, Nanomaterials, and Functional Materials. She was later awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship and completed her postdoctoral research at Imperial College London. She subsequently worked as a Research Fellow in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London and later as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Surrey. She is currently a Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Surrey.
Research Areas:
Materials engineering — Condensed matter physics – Physical chemistry – Nanotechnology – Biomedical engineering
Key Takeaways:
Nanoparticles are increasingly being used in targeted drug delivery because their small size and large surface area allow them to be engineered for a wide range of therapeutic applications.
The blood–brain barrier is a highly selective layer of cells that protects the brain by limiting the passage of many substances, making it difficult for most drugs, and many nanoparticles, to reach brain tissue.
Engineering nanoparticles with a virus-like shape can increase their surface area and interactions with cells, improving their ability to cross biological barriers such as the blood–brain barrier.
Main Topics Covered: Blood-Brain Barrier – Challenges in Drug Delivery – Nanoparticles – Biodegradation Systems – Shape Modification