Project description
Making medicine work better
Every day, millions unknowingly flush valuable medicine down the drain. The problem? About 90 % of modern drugs do not dissolve well in water, forcing higher doses and leading to pharmaceutical waste. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the DRUG-SPIN project borrows a technique from materials science that uses melt-spinning (cooling molten drugs on a spinning copper wheel) to lock them into an amorphous form that dissolves far more easily. The team will build specialised equipment, produce and test new drug forms, and assess their stability over time. DRUG-SPIN aims to make medicine more effective, reduce waste, and improve patient compliance – all while training scientists at the intersection of pharma and materials research.
Objective
Half of the globe’s population takes at least one drug a day. Since 90% of currently developed drugs exhibit poor water solubility, leading to exceeding amounts of drugs being consumed and unprocessed drug ending up in waste water. This project aims to address the challenge of poor water solubility in pharmaceuticals, improving the drug’s efficacy and patient compliance. By converting crystalline drugs into their amorphous forms, the solubility is known to increase by a large factor. However, based on the strategy for to obtain the amorphous form, drugs are more or less stable and crystallize in storage. This project will adapt an established method from materials science, melt-spinning, rapidly quenching molten drugs on a spinning copper wheel to achieve reproducible, high cooling rates and perfectly stabilize the amorphous state.
The project has four key objectives. First, a melt-spinning device will be set up for drug quenching. This will involve designing and building the necessary equipment to achieve controlled quenching rates. Next, the project aims to produce amorphous drug particles or films, exploring the relationship between quenching rates and drug stability. The third objective is to characterize the stability and solubility of these amorphous drugs using advanced analytical techniques such as spectroscopy, calorimetry, and diffraction methods. Finally, the solubility and stability of these amorphous drugs will be assessed over an extended period.
The project is expected to significantly advance the understanding of amorphous drug formulations, potentially leading to more effective and stable drugs. This research will contribute to reducing pharmaceutical waste and improving patient compliance, aligning with global sustainability goals. Furthermore, the fellowship will enhance my career prospects by providing expertise in pharmaceutical technology, thereby bridging the gap between materials science and life sciences.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry calorimetry
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.