PhD Candidates
Antonio Ferrara
Antonio Ferrara designs lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles at Sapienza University of Rome's Department of Drug Chemistry and Technologies, with a focus on the notoriously difficult challenge of co-delivering a hydrophilic gemcitabine analogue and hydrophobic paclitaxel in a single carrier to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumours. Under Prof. Maria Luisa Rossi, he has developed a sequential self-assembly route that first forms a PLGA polymer core loaded with paclitaxel, then coats it with a PEGylated lecithin shell that electrostatically traps the gemcitabine prodrug. By decoupling the two loading mechanisms he independently optimises encapsulation efficiency for each drug — achieving 81% and 74% for the hydrophobic and hydrophilic payloads respectively. In PANC-1 pancreatic cancer spheroid models the combination nanoparticle outperforms the free-drug combination by 3.4-fold in IC₅₀, with the synergy attributed to the simultaneous delivery kinetics that single-drug carriers cannot replicate. Antonio's ongoing patent co-authorship with Sapienza's technology transfer office and a submitted abstract to the Controlled Release Society annual meeting are clear signals of imminent industry engagement.
Details
- Advisor
- Prof. Maria Luisa Rossi
- Field
- Nanoparticle Drug Delivery
- Institution
- Sapienza University of Rome
- Skills
- nanoprecipitation & thin-film hydrationDLS & NTA sizingin vitro drug release Franz cellMCF-7/PANC-1 cytotoxicity
- Thesis
- Lipid-Polymer Hybrid Nanoparticles for Dual Hydrophilic–Hydrophobic Drug Co-Encapsulation in Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapy
- Transition Signals
- co-authoring patent with Sapienza technology transfer officepresenting at CRS 2026applying to pharma industry fellowships