1. Research Expertise Department of Pharmaceutical Technology
School of Pharmacy
International Medical University

2. Contract pharmaceutical service
Excipient compatibility Studies
Physical/chemical characterization
Solubility determination
1. Preformulation studies
2. Formulation development-Tablet
Development and lab-scale production of tablet
Dissolution/release testing on active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) according to various standard compendia (USP/EP/JP/BP/etc.) or other provided methods.
3. Active pharmaceutical ingredient dissolution/release
Stability studies on active pharmaceutical ingredients, and finished dosage forms.
4. Stability assessment
All studies will be performed according to FDA and ICH guidelines, client approved protocols, and standard operating procedures.

3. Facilities available in IMU
Equipment's:
Sieve shakers
Density test apparatus
Brookfield viscometer
10-station tableting machine
Capsule filling machine
Coating pan
Homogenizer
Rapid mixers and fluidized dryer
Milling machine
Dissolution apparatus
UV-spectrophotometer
FTIR, DSC, SEM, HPLC, LCMS
Stability chambers 3

4. Research Expertise 1. Solid dosage forms: enhancing drug solubility
and bioavailability
2. Formulation of
nanomedicine
5. Stem cell preservation
for cell-based therapies
4. Tissue engineering
3. Drug metabolism
Pharmacokinetics

5. Solid dosage forms Solid dosage forms:
enhancing drug solubility and bioavailability
Solid dosage forms
Controlled release technologies eg pulsatile
Taste masking
Effervescent tablets
Fast dissolving tablets
Gastro-retentive delivery systems
‘like brick dust’
drug solubility < 1µg/mL
Enhancing drug solubility and bioavailability
• Self emulsifying systems
and nanoemulsions
• Crystal polymorphism
• Complexation
• Cyclodextrins
• Nanocrystals
Meka, Venkata Srikanth, et al. "Characterization and in vitro drug release studies of a natural polysaccharide Terminalia catappa Gum (Badam Gum)." AAPS PharmSciTech 13.4 (2012):

6. 2. Nanomedicines: advantages of nanoparticle carriers for drug delivery
• Enhanced dissolution of poorly water soluble drugs at nanosize range
● NPs around 100nm accumulate in tumours following injection into the bloodstream due to EPR effect – ‘enhanced permeability and retention’
• Sub 150nm particles can move through tumour tissue
• Ability to penetrate mucus layers
• Drug targeting by surface modification of NPs to bind with cell surface receptors
● Multiple types of drug molecules can be encapsulated and release kinetics can be controlled
Md, Shadab, et al. "Nanoneurotherapeutics approach intended for direct nose to brain delivery." Drug development and industrial pharmacy ahead-of-print (2015): 1-13.

7. Liquid crystalline nanoparticle
Expertise in nanoparticle formulation
Dendrimer
Liquid crystalline nanoparticle
Nanoemulsion
Lipid Vesicles: liposomes
Chitosan nanoparticle
Madheswaran, Thiagarajan, et al. "Entrapment of curcumin into monoolein-based liquid crystalline nanoparticle dispersion for enhancement of stability and anticancer activity." International journal of nanomedicine 9 (2014): 3119.

8. 3. Drug metabolism/Pharmacokinetics
Tissue distribution study
In vivo pharmacokinetics
Bioavailability determination
Bioequivalence study
Dan, S., Choudhury, H., Sarkar, P., Gorain, B., Barik, A., Ghosh, B., & Pal, T. K. (2014). A randomized two-way crossover comparative pharmacokinetic study of two different tablet formulations containing ilaprazole in healthy human Indian volunteers. Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2(2), 160.

9. 4. Tissue Engineering
Biomaterial development from waste material (fish bladder, cow bladder)
Fabrication of 3D and 2D scaffold for tissue construction (sponge, film)
Composite scaffold fabrication for Cartilage regeneration in rat model
Composite hydro film for wound healing studies in rat models
Jithendra, Panneerselvam, et al. "Preparation and characterization of aloe vera blended collagen-chitosan composite scaffold for tissue engineering applications." ACS applied materials & interfaces 5.15 (2013):

10. 5. Stem cell preservation for cell-based therapies
Current cryo-preservation methods use:
• liquid nitrogen (bulky, costly storage)
• cryo-protectant (e.g. DMSO)
- cell viability 70-80%, toxic to cells and patients
- alternatives (sugars, polymers), viability 2-100%
Aiming for ambient, dry state preservation
Avoid liquid nitrogen
- easier transport, reconstitute prior
to administration
- increase potential use
eg in developing countries
Avoid DMSO
investigating cryoprotectants shown to be beneficial for stabilising proteins/peptides
Chieng, Norman, et al. "Characterization of dynamics in complex lyophilized formulations: II. Analysis of density variations in terms of glass dynamics and comparisons with global mobility, fast dynamics, and Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS)." European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics 85.2 (2013):

11. Pharmaceutical technology faculty expertise
Solid dosage form
Dr Nagashekhara Molugulu
Dr Sivaram Nallamolu
Dr Venkata Srikanth Meka
Dr Farrukh Zeeshan
Nanomedicine
Dr Shadab Md
Dr Thiagarajan Madheswaran
Mr Wei Meng Lim
Drug metabolism/pharmacokinetics
Dr Hira Choudhury
Hydrogel
Dr Manisha Pandey
Tissue engineering
Dr Jithendra Panneerselvam
Stem cell preservation
Dr Norman Chieng