Award details

Carbohydrate polymer food bionanotechnology underpinning controlled delivery to the human gastrointestinal tract

Reference	BBS/E/F/00044419
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Roger Parker
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Quadram Institute Bioscience
Department	Quadram Institute Bioscience Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	202,800
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2010
End date	31/03/2013
Duration	36 months

Abstract

Nanotechnological tools and processes have been adapted to enable and investigate the directed assembly of carbohydrate polymer-based structures with potential for the site-directed and controlled delivery of biologically active species in the human gastrointestinal tract. The layer-by-layer deposition of mixed layers of polysaccharides, poly amino acids and proteins has been characterised for polymer mass, composition, hydrated mass and ionic speciation using a quartz crystal microbalance, dual polarisation interferometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The conventional wisdom that charge balance governed layer-by-layer assembly was found not to occur for polysaccharide-based multilayers. The salt, pH and, in some cases, temperature and enzyme, sensitivity of these multilayers was characterised for conditions appropriate to the human GI tract. Partial disassembly of multilayers in response to gastric-like changes in pH occurred. The concept of a simple dispersed small intestinal delivery systems was developed based on the above work which could be tailored to specific cargoes. Discussion with food industry scientists indicated that only the simplest structures would be cost effective. The market pull for such a delivery system was assessed with Plant Biotechnology Limited and a Follow-on Fund Pathfinder award. The conclusion was that the market conditions were currently not right for such an invention in the food sector. In the pharmaceutical sector the system would be competing with existing well developed technologies.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Pharmaceuticals
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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