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- UCAS course code
- F200
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Master of Engineering (MEng)
MEng Materials Science and Engineering with Metallurgy
If you think your future lies in metallurgy, then join us and study advanced alloys, which will enable you to change the world.
- Typical A-level offer: AAA including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36 points overall with 6,6,6 at HL, including specific requirements
Course unit details:
Drug Delivery & Biosensors
Unit code | MATS31802 |
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Credit rating | 10 |
Unit level | Level 6 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
Offered by | Department of Materials |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Materials for drug delivery and biosensors both consider the interaction between synthetic substances and biological or biologically active molecules.
Aims
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.
Learning outcomes
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
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures (live and pre-recorded), coursework, recommended textbooks, web resources, past exam papers, electronic supporting information (Blackboard).
Knowledge and understanding
- 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.
Intellectual skills
- 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.
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Summarise key points of a scientific paper coherently and succinctly
Assessment methods
Method | Weight |
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Written exam | 70% |
Written assignment (inc essay) | 30% |
Feedback methods
Written and verbal
Recommended reading
- 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.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Lectures | 20 |
Practical classes & workshops | 6 |
Tutorials | 3 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 71 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Jonny Blaker | Unit coordinator |