BITS-RMIT joint Ph.D. program under the supervision of Dr. Gautam Singhvi, Department of Pharmacy, BITS-Pilani, Pilani Campus, India & Dr. Rajesh Ramanathan, and Dr. Vipul Bansal, School of Science, STEM, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Melbourne, Australia.
Project Title : Protein-based nanoparticles for oral drug delivery
Project ID : BITS025F001397
Eligibility : • First class in M. Pharm. or M.S. in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug delivery, Protein-chemistry, Pharm- Biotechnology, Nanomedicines, or equivalent from a recognized University.
• Valid GPAT/GATE Score OR a high score in UGC- NET/CSIR/ICMR/DST-INSPIRE OR have at least two years of professional work experience if no national exam is qualified.
Desirable Criteria : Experience in protein handling and designing nanocarriers, in-vitro characterization, cell lines, and animal studies will be preferred.
Highlights
• Acquire an internationally recognized qualification from the Indian Institute of Eminence University and a top Australian university.
• Receive a full RMIT tuition fee scholarship for the duration of your enrolment.
• Receive a generous scholarship with nominal tuition fees from BITS.
• Benefit from the combined expertise of two leading universities and access world-class research facilities in India and Melbourne.
• The candidate admitted to the program will be jointly supervised by faculty from BITS and RMIT.
• Travel to Australia for up to one year and receive an Australian stipend during your stay in Melbourne.
Project Description
This PhD project aims to advance innovative strategies for fabricating biocompatible protein nanoparticles using novel ionic liquids and salts. The primary focus is on dissolving and desolvating food-based proteins, such as ovalbumin, serum albumin, and lactalbumin, to produce nanoparticles or nanogels suitable for oral delivery of bioactive compounds. This research seeks to revolutionize oral therapeutic delivery systems by addressing challenges in permeability and stability. The project will develop ionic liquid solvents, or their mixtures with ethanol, as biocompatible solvents, and understand their influence particle formation in aqueous protein solutions, where they can induce spherical or fibroin nanoparticles. To optimize nanoparticle production, various ionic liquids will be employed to fine-tune the desolvation process. This project will study the desolvation factors, e.g., crosslinking agents, salt types, and the concentration of proteins, and correlate them with particle size and morphology. The advanced methodology will integrate small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at the Australian Synchrotron to characterize particle structures, providing insights into their size, shape, and assembly mechanisms. Ultimately, this project aims to develop tailored formulations with enhanced bioavailability and targeted delivery capabilities, laying the groundwork for transformative applications in oral therapeutics and beyond. The findings will have broad implications for nanoparticle engineering and developing innovative drug delivery platforms.
Project Deliverable / Outcomes
This PhD project is expected to deliver groundbreaking insights into using ionic liquids and salts for fabricating biocompatible protein nanoparticles with direct applications in oral drug delivery systems. The project will establish novel biocompatible solvent systems and their role in inducing spherical nanoparticles in aqueous protein solutions. It will optimize the desolvation process by identifying key factors such as crosslinking agents, salt types, and protein concentrations that influence particle size and morphology. At RMIT, the student will use advanced Synchrotron SAXS and physical chemistry techniques to understand the structural properties of these nanoparticles. The findings will contribute to the design of nanoparticles with improved bioavailability and permeability for oral delivery of bioactive compounds, paving the way for transformative therapeutic applications. This work will also advance nanoparticle engineering and expand the potential of ionic liquid-based technologies in biomedicine. Promising outcomes will lead to patent applications, commercially viable processes, high-quality publications, and grants from national and international funding agencies.
Application Deadline : 3rd April 2025
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