BSc Materials Science and Engineering

Materials for drug delivery and biosensors both consider the interaction between synthetic substances and biological or biologically active molecules.

The unit aims to:

• Provide the students with a working knowledge of how contemporary polymeric materials are used and fabricated as biomaterials for the treatment of disease and disability; and
• Provide an introduction to the theory, methods and regulatory aspects related to the use of biosensors for analyte detection.

A greater depth of the learning outcomes will be covered in the following sections:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Intellectual skills
• Practical skills
• Transferable skills and personal qualities

Lectures (live and pre-recorded), coursework, recommended textbooks, web resources, past exam papers, electronic supporting information (Blackboard).

• Know the most widely used classes of polymers used for the fabrication of biomedical materials.
• Understand the reasons for the use of polymers to achieve controlled delivery of drugs in relation to polymer degradation mechanisms.
• Understand the polymer chemistry and structure-property relationships for each of the types of polymer studied.
• Describe the origins of selectivity in various biosensors.
• Describe the theory and operation of biosensors.
   

• Relate polymer structure and properties to their performance in vitro and in vivo.
• Recognise the main benefits of microspheres and nanoparticles in drug delivery applications.
• Mathematically relate spectroscopic or electrochemical changes to the presence of or concentration of an analyte.
   

• Summarise key points of a scientific paper coherently and succinctly

Written and verbal

• Biomaterials science, an introduction to materials in medicine, 3rd revised edition, B. D. Ratner, A. S. Hoffman, F. J. Schoen and J. E. Lemons, eds., Elsevier Academic Press, Oxford, 2012.
• Chemical sensors and biosensors, B. R. Eggins, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 2002.
• Biodegradable polymers as drug delivery systems, M. Chasin and R. Langer, eds., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1990.
• Novel drug delivery systems, 2nd edition, Y. W. Chien, CRC Press, 1991.