Pharmaceutics is the study of the quantitative aspects of drug delivery. It involves the design, development, and evaluation of drugs in combination with an appropriate dosage form. A pharmaceutical scientist:
- characterizes physical properties of drugs
- develops innovative delivery systems for drugs
- quantitatively evaluates drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and pharmacological activity in the living organism
PhD and MS Programs
The Graduate Program in Pharmaceutics prepares students for research in the development and testing of drug products, including investigating interactions of drugs with complex biological systems and the physical and chemical formulation of drugs for delivery. Specializations include:
- Pharmacokinetics
- Pharmacodynamics
- Drug Metabolism
- Pharmaceutical Materials Science and Engineering
- Polymer-Based Drug Delivery
- Biophysical Chemistry
- Molecular Biopharmaceutics
Research Areas
- Drug delivery to the central nervous system to treat Alzheimer’s, brain cancer, pain, and addiction
- Targeted drug delivery to treat cancers
- Engineered nanoparticles to target drugs to the desired sites
- Behavior and movement of a drug to its intended destination in the body
- Materials science and engineering of drug substance and drug products
- Strategies to enhance drug availability to the body