Publications

@article{Grassi2013b,

title = {Therapeutic Potential of Nucleic Acid-Based Drugs in Coronary Hyper- Proliferative Vascular Diseases},

author = {Gabriele Grassi and Bruna Scaggiante and Barbara Dapas and Rossella Farra and Federica Tonon and Gaetano Lamberti and Anna Angela Barba and Simona Fiorentino and Nicola Fiotti and Fabrizio Zanconati and Michela Abrami and Mario Grassi },

url = {http://www.eurekaselect.com/113843/article},

doi = {10.2174/09298673113209990031},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-01-01},

journal = {Current Medicinal Chemistry},

volume = {20},

number = {18},

pages = {3515 - 3538},

abstract = {The thickening of the vessel wall (intimal hyperplasia) is a pathological process which often follows re-vascularization approaches such as transluminal angioplasty and artery bypass graft, procedures used to re-vascularize stenotic artery. Despite the significant improvements in the treatment of intimal hyperplasia obtained in the last years, the problem has not completely solved. Nucleic acid based-drugs (NABDs) represent an emergent class of molecules with potential therapeutic value for the treatment of intimal hyperplasia.

NABDs of interest in the field of intimal hyperplasia are: ribozymes, DNAzymes, antisense oligonucleotides, decoy oligonucleotides, small interfering RNAs and micro interfering RNAs. These molecules can recognize, in a sequence-specific fashion, a target which, depending on the different NABDs, can be represented by a nucleic acid or a protein. Upon binding, NABDs can down-modulate the functions of the target (mRNA/proteins) and thus they are used to impair the functions of disease-causing biological molecules. In spite of the great therapeutic potential demonstrated by NABDs in many experimental model of intima hyperplasia, their practical use is hindered by the necessity to identify optimal delivery systems to the vasculature.

In the first part of this review a brief description of the clinical problem related to intima hyperplasia formation after revascularization procedures is reported. In the second part, the attention is focused on the experimental evidences of NABD therapeutic potential in the prevention of intimal hyperplasia. Finally, in the third part, we will describe the strategies developed to optimize NABD delivery to the diseased vessel.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Cascone2012,

title = {Microencapsulation effectiveness of small active molecules in biopolymer by ultrasonic atomization technique},

author = { Sara Cascone and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio and Anna Angela Barba and Matteo D'Amore},

url = {http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/03639045.2011.653814},

doi = {10.3109/03639045.2011.653814},

issn = {0363-9045},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-12-01},

journal = {Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy},

volume = {38},

number = {12},

pages = {1486--1493},

keywords = {Micro and Nano Vectors},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2012d,

title = {In vitro simulation of drug intestinal absorption.},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti and Sara Cascone and Margherita Iannaccone and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517312009520},

doi = {10.1016/j.ijpharm.2012.10.012},

issn = {1873-3476},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-12-01},

journal = {International journal of pharmaceutics},

volume = {439},

number = {1-2},

pages = {165--8},

abstract = {In this work, a simple set-up was designed, realized and tested to evaluate the effect of intestinal absorption on the in vitro drug release studies. The conventional USP-approved dissolution apparatus 2 was equipped with an hollow fibers filter, along with the necessary tubing and pumps, to simulate the two-fluids real behavior (the gastro intestinal lumen and the gastro intestinal circulatory system). The realized set-up was characterized in term of mass exchange characteristic, using the theophylline as the model drug, also with the aid of a simple mathematical model; then the release kinetics of a controlled release tablet was evaluated in the conventional test as well as in the novel simulator. The concentration of drug in the release compartment (which simulates the gastric lumen) was found lower in the novel simulator than in the traditional one.},

keywords = {Controlled drug release, In vitro, Intestinal Absorption, Mass balance, Oral administration, Pharmacokinetics, Theophylline},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Malafronte2012,

title = {Combined convective and microwave assisted drying: Experiments and modeling},

author = { Loredana Malafronte and Gaetano Lamberti and Anna Angela Barba and Birgitta Raaholt and Emma Holtz and Lilia Ahrn\`{e}},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0260877412002269},

doi = {10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2012.05.005},

issn = {02608774},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-10-01},

journal = {Journal of Food Engineering},

volume = {112},

number = {4},

pages = {304--312},

abstract = {The drying process is largely used in many different industrial applications, such as treatment of foods, production of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing of paper, wood and building materials, polymers and so on. Physical and mathematical models can constitute useful tools to establish the influence of the main process variables on the final product quality, in order to apply an effective production control. In this work, simulation model was developed to describe combined convective/microwave assisted drying. In particular, a multi-physics approach was applied to take into account heat and two mass balances (for liquid water and for water vapor) and Maxwell’s equations to describe electromagnetic field propagation. Potato matrix was selected as food material; a waveguide with a rectangular cross section, equipped with a hot air circulator device, was used as microwave applicator. The proposed model was found able to describe the process, being thus a useful tool for design and management of the process itself.},

keywords = {Drying process, Microwave convective drier, Potato},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Dalmoro2012a,

title = {Pharmaceutical applications of biocompatible polymer blends containing sodium alginate},

author = { Annalisa Dalmoro and Anna Angela Barba and Gaetano Lamberti and Mario Grassi and Matteo D'Amore},

url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/adv.21276},

doi = {10.1002/adv.21276},

issn = {07306679},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-09-01},

journal = {Advances in Polymer Technology},

volume = {31},

number = {3},

pages = {219--230},

publisher = {Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company},

abstract = {Biocompatible polymer blends, such as alginate blends, have a widespread use in pharmaceutical and medical applications due to their specific features, such as biodegradation, adhesiveness, and thermo- and pH sensitivity and that can be obtained from the mixture composition. In this work, the use of alginate blends was tested in a novel production methodology of therapeutic dosage forms based on polymeric chain reticulation phenomena induced by exposure to bivalent ions. Two kinds of sodium alginate were used to obtain gel films (structured films) in blends with Pluronic F127®. The blends were considered for applications in gel paving of drug-eluting stents. Sodium alginate was also used in shell\textendashcore particle production (structured particles) to obtain shell-barrier reducing drug release in the preparative steps (see wash operations). Both structures, films and particles, were obtained using Cu2+ and Ca2+ ions, respectively. Film/shell barrier properties were tested in dissolution experiments using vitamin B12 as an active molecule model. Experimental work demonstrated that the alginate composition is a crucial point in defining reticulated structures.},

keywords = {Alginate gel film, Alginate shell{\textendash}core particles, Biocompatibility, Crosslinking, Hydrogel Characterization, Hydrogels, Micro and Nano Vectors},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Dalmoro2012,

title = {Intensifying the microencapsulation process: Ultrasonic atomization as an innovative approach},

author = { Annalisa Dalmoro and Anna Angela Barba and Gaetano Lamberti and Matteo D'Amore},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939641112000070},

doi = {10.1016/j.ejpb.2012.01.006},

issn = {09396411},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-04-01},

journal = {European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics},

volume = {80},

number = {3},

pages = {471--477},

abstract = {In this review, new approaches to the microencapsulation processes, widely used in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, are discussed focusing the attention on the emerging ultrasonic atomization technique. Fundamentals and novel aspects are presented, and advantages of ultrasonic atomization in terms of intensification and low energy requests are emphasized.},

keywords = {Atomization assisted by ultrasonic energy, Micro and Nano Vectors, microencapsulation, Microparticles production, Process intensification},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Galdi2012,

title = {Drug release from matrix systems: analysis by finite element methods},

author = { Ivan Galdi and Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00231-011-0900-y},

doi = {10.1007/s00231-011-0900-y},

issn = {0947-7411},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-03-01},

journal = {Heat and Mass Transfer},

volume = {48},

number = {3},

pages = {519--528},

abstract = {In this work some problems in drug delivery from solid systems were described in terms of transient mass balances with diffusion and solved by using FEM. Firstly, the solving codes were compared with known analytical solutions, available for simple problems (simple geometries, constant diffusivities). Then, models were written to describe more realistic systems (complex geometries, variable diffusivities). Eventually, the behaviors of some real drug delivery systems were successfully predicted.},

keywords = {Hydrogel Modeling},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2012a,

title = {Process validation of the normalized rheological function behavior during polymer crystallization},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00397-011-0600-z},

doi = {10.1007/s00397-011-0600-z},

issn = {0035-4511},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-03-01},

journal = {Rheologica Acta},

volume = {51},

number = {3},

pages = {259--265},

publisher = {Springer-Verlag},

abstract = {The film casting process of an isotactic polypropylene was adopted as the source of data to evaluate the behavior of a crystallizing polymer. The increase in viscosity due to the crystallization was quantified, and a model was proposed to estimate the normalized rheological function (NRF) during the process. The estimation was based also on the availability of rich sets of data, i.e., the polymer temperature and crystallinity, the film velocity and width distribution along the draw direction, gathered during the process. The quasi-experimental NRF evolutions were compared with just two of the very numerous hardening models proposed in literature, and the main result is that the process is coherent with the choice of an NRF model which predicts the increase in viscosity only for substantial crystallinity amount.},

keywords = {Crystallization, Film casting, Normalized rheological function},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2012,

title = {Use of microwaves for in-situ removal of pollutant compounds from solid matrices.},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Domenico Acierno and Matteo D'Amore},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389411010053},

doi = {10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.07.123},

issn = {1873-3336},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Journal of hazardous materials},

volume = {207-208},

pages = {128--35},

abstract = {Thermal treatments are the most used methods to remediate contaminated solids. However, they may seriously damage the otherwise recoverable matrices, especially when mild operating conditions cannot be used. Microwaves recently raised as a powerful tool in industrial engineering for their ability, among other advantages, to offer a selected heating, thus allowing to treat and remove only the undesired components of a matrix. This work approaches the microwave assisted thermal treatments of waste from a physical-chemical point of view. Two recovering operations have been performed, respectively, on a soil contaminated by volatile organic compounds and on a ceramic filter spoiled by soot, using two specially designed prototypes, both realized on pre-pilot scale. The heat and mass transfer balances have then been analyzed in their more general form, and terms related to the use of microwaves outlined. Solutions of the differential equations have been applied to interpret the effects of microwaves on rate and efficiency of the remediation processes.},

keywords = {Ceramics, Environmental Restoration and Remediation, Environmental Restoration and Remediation: methods, Hot Temperature, Microwaves, Soil Pollutants, Soil Pollutants: isolation \& purification, Volatile Organic Compounds, Volatile Organic Compounds: isolation \& purificati},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2012a,

title = {An engineering approach to biomedical sciences: advanced strategies in drug delivery systems production},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Annalisa Dalmoro and Matteo D'Amore},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Translational Medicine@ UniSa},

volume = {4},

pages = {5--11},

publisher = {Universit},

abstract = {Development and optimization of novel production techniques for drug delivery systems are fundamental steps in the “from the bench to the bedside” process which is the base of translational medicine. In particular, in the current scenery where the need for reducing energy consumption, emissions, wastes and risks drives the development of sustainable processes, new pharmaceutical manufacturing does not constitute an exception. In this paper, concepts of process intensification are presented and their transposition in drug delivery systems production is discussed. Moreover, some examples on intensified techniques, for drug microencapsulation and granules drying, are reported.},

keywords = {Micro and Nano Vectors, microwave heating, Process intensification, ultrasonic atomization},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2012b,

title = {Controlled Release of Drugs from Microparticles Produced by Ultrasonic Assisted Atomization Based on Biocompatible Polymers},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Annalisa Dalmoro and Matteo D'Amore and Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak\&id_clanak_jezik=138369},

issn = {0352-9568},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly},

volume = {26},

number = {4},

pages = {345--353},

publisher = {Hrvatsko dru\v{s}tvo kemijskih in\v{z}enjera i tehnologa},

abstract = {Microencapsulation of active molecules in biocompatible polymers is a matter of great interest in pharmaceutical sciences. Ultrasonic assisted atomization as a new technique to produce microencapsulated systems seems to offer several advantages (low level of mechanical stress in materials, reduced energy request, reduced apparatuses size) with respect to more conventional techniques. In this work, fine drug-loaded particles were produced by ionic reticulation of droplets obtained by ultrasonic atomization of biopolymers solutions. The particles were then characterized in terms of morphology and drug release kinetics. Data were used to estimate the PNMS (Polymeric Network Mesh-Size) with the aims of clarifying its role in controlled drug release, and analyzing its relationships with material and process parameters. For materials and operative conditions investigated, the calculated PNMS was found consistent with a fast release of drugs of small molecular size.},

keywords = {Micro and Nano Vectors},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2012,

title = {Parametric simulation of drug release from hydrogel-based matrices},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.2042-7158.2011.01373.x},

doi = {10.1111/j.2042-7158.2011.01373.x},

issn = {00223573},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology},

volume = {64},

number = {1},

pages = {48--51},

publisher = {Blackwell Publishing Ltd},

abstract = {Objectives In this work a model recently proposed to describe the drug release from hydrogel-based matrices was applied to describe the fractional drug release from matrices based on hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and diclofenac. Methods The model, firstly proposed to describe the behaviour of systems based on HPMC and theophylline and a single set of preparation variables, is based on mass balances and transport phenomena evaluation and it was solved by an FEM-based numerical code. The experimental data on the HPMC\textendashdiclofenac matrices, taken from literature, have been obtained by varying the drug loading ratio, the compression force, the powder size of both the drug and the polymer. Key findings A good agreement between experimental data and model predictions, as calculated in the present work, was obtained without the use of any adjustable parameters. Conclusions The predictive nature of the model has been confirmed, even changing the drug molecule and other preparative parameters.},

keywords = {drug release, FEM, HPMC, Hydrogels, modelling},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2012b,

title = {An engineering approach to biomedical sciences: advanced testing methods and pharmacokinetic modeling},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti and Sara Cascone and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Translational Medicine@ UniSa},

volume = {4},

pages = {34--38},

publisher = {Universit},

abstract = {In this paper, the philosophy of a research in pharmacology field, driven by an engineering approach, was described along with some case histories and examples. The improvement in the testing methods for pharmaceutical systems (in-vitro techniques), as well as the proposal and the testing of mathematical models to describe the pharmacokinetics (in-silico techniques) are reported with the aim of pointing out methodologies and tools able to reduce the need of expensive and ethical problematic in-vivo measurements.},

keywords = {In silico, in-silico, in-vitro, in-vivo, Pharmacokinetics, testing methods},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2012c,

title = {Controlled Release of Drugs From Hydrogel Based Matrices Systems: Experiments and Modeling},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti and Sara Cascone and Giuseppe Titomanlio and Anna Angela Barba},

issn = {0352-9568},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly},

volume = {26},

number = {4},

pages = {321--330},

publisher = {Hrvatsko dru\v{s}tvo kemijskih in\v{z}enjera i tehnologa},

abstract = {Hydrogels are materials largely used in the formulation of pharmaceuticals since, in principle, they could produce a release system of zero-order kinetics, which is of great therapeutic interest. In this paper, a model was proposed for the description of the main transport phenomena involved in the drug release process from hydrogel matrices (water diffusion, polymer swelling, drug diffusion and polymer dissolution); the model predictions are successfully compared with a large set of experimental data, obtained working with matrices systems based on HPMC (Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose). The proposed model was found able to reproduce main features of the observed phenomena, it can thus be adopted for prediction of the performances of drug release systems from hydrogel matrices.},

keywords = {Hydrogel Characterization, Hydrogel Modeling},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Manzano2011,

title = {Anti-Osteoporotic Drug Release from Ordered Mesoporous Bioceramics: Experiments and Modeling},

author = { Miguel Manzano and Gaetano Lamberti and Ivan Galdi and Mar\^{i}a Vallet-Reg\^{i}},

url = {http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1208/s12249-011-9688-9},

doi = {10.1208/s12249-011-9688-9},

issn = {1530-9932},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-12-01},

journal = {AAPS PharmSciTech},

volume = {12},

number = {4},

pages = {1193--1199},

publisher = {Springer US},

abstract = {The release of a potent bone-resorption inhibitor such as zoledronate from a versatile drug delivery system such as SBA 15 has been modeled. The initial and boundary conditions have been defined, together with the system parameters, including the determination of equilibrium and transport parameters. Additionally, the experimental model of the same system has been observed to validate the prediction here developed. This approach represents a powerful tool for the designing of mesoporous implantable drug delivery systems because their release kinetics can be predicted in advance, and this leads to a considerable time and resources saving.},

keywords = {drug delivery, Modeling, ordered mesoporous matrices},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Russo2011,

title = {Electrospinning of drug-loaded polymer systems: Preparation and drug release},

author = { Giuseppina Russo and Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/app.34764},

doi = {10.1002/app.34764},

issn = {00218995},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-12-01},

journal = {Journal of Applied Polymer Science},

volume = {122},

number = {6},

pages = {3551--3556},

publisher = {Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company},

abstract = {In this study, biomedical devices for tissue regeneration loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs were formulated and characterized. We realized these systems by homogenously dispersing an interclay, a lamellar hydrotalcite loaded with diclofenac sodium (HTlc-DIC), in a polymeric matrix made of poly(ϵ-caprolactone) to produce a controlled release of the drug. These biomedical devices were obtained with the electrospinning technique, which has proven to be very efficient. In particular, in this study, microfibers loaded with HTlc-DIC were obtained, and the drug delivery of diclofenac sodium from these systems was studied and compared with the release from biomedical devices loaded with the free drug. We analyzed these results by evaluating the diffusivity coefficient by means of the pure diffusive mathematical model. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011},

keywords = {diclofenac sodium/hydrotalcite (HTlc-DIC), drug release, electrospinning, poly($epsilon$-caprolactone) (PCL)},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Cascone2011,

title = {The influence of dissolution conditions on the drug ADME phenomena.},

author = { Sara Cascone and Felice De Santis and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S093964111100141X},

doi = {10.1016/j.ejpb.2011.04.003},

issn = {1873-3441},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-10-01},

journal = {European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft f\"{u}r Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V},

volume = {79},

number = {2},

pages = {382--91},

abstract = {In this work, a review of the apparatuses available to mimic what happens to a drug (or to foodstuffs) once ingested is presented. Similarly, a brief review of the models proposed to simulate the fate of a drug administered to a living body is reported. Then, the release kinetics of extended release of diclofenac from a commercial enteric-coated tablet was determined both in a conventional dissolution tester (USP Apparatus 2, Method A) as well as in an apparatus modified to reproduce a given pH evolution, closer to the real one than the one suggested by USP. The two experimental release profiles were reported and discussed; therefore, they were adopted as input functions for a previously proposed pharmacokinetic model. The obtained evolutions with time of plasma concentration were presented and used to assess the effectiveness of the commercial pharmaceutical products. The importance of a correct in vitro simulation for the design of pharmaceutical dosage systems was thus emphasized.},

keywords = {ADME, Dissolution, Enteric coated, In silico, In vitro, Pharmacokinetic modeling, Pharmacokinetics},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Grassi2011,

title = {Mathematical modeling of simultaneous drug release and in vivo absorption.},

author = { Mario Grassi and Gaetano Lamberti and Sara Cascone and Gabriele Grassi},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517311000275},

doi = {10.1016/j.ijpharm.2010.12.044},

issn = {1873-3476},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-10-01},

journal = {International journal of pharmaceutics},

volume = {418},

number = {1},

pages = {130--41},

abstract = {The attention of this review is focussed on the mathematical modeling of the simultaneous processes of drug release and absorption/distribution/metabolism/elimination (ADME processes) following different administration routes. Among all of them, for their clinical importance, the oral, transdermal and local delivery are considered. The bases of the presented mathematical models are shown after the discussion of the most relevant phenomena characterising the particular administration route considered. Then, model performances are compared to experimental evidences in order to evaluate their reliability and soundness. The most important conclusion of this review is that despite the complexity of the problem involved in the description of the fate of the drugs after their administration, the scientific community is close to the solution as witnessed by the various interesting and promising approaches here presented about the oral, transdermal and local administration routes.},

keywords = {Absorption, Administration, Area Under Curve, Biological, Drug Delivery Systems, Humans, In silico, Models, Oral, Pharmacokinetics, Solubility, Theoretical},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2011a,

title = {Flow-induced crystallization during isotactic polypropylene film casting},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/pen.21891},

doi = {10.1002/pen.21891},

issn = {00323888},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-05-01},

journal = {Polymer Engineering \& Science},

volume = {51},

number = {5},

pages = {851--861},

publisher = {Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company},

abstract = {In this work, a previously proposed model for flow-induced crystallization of polymers was slightly modified and successfully applied in describing film casting experiments performed working with isotactic polypropylene. In this process, the melt experiences flowing conditions, during the cooling. The effect of flow on crystallization kinetics was accounted for by the entropic increase of melting point because of the orientation effect of the flow. The orientation of the macromolecules was described by means of a nonlinear dumbbell model, and the entropic shift was calculated on the basis of the rubber elasticity theory. The flow-induced crystallization model, using reasonable values for relaxation time, was proved able to quantitatively predict the enhancement effect of the flow as an increase of spherulite nuclei density and growth rate, in presence of low-level flows (Deborah number \<1\textendash10). The morphology changes due to higher level of flow (fine grained, fibrils, shish-kebab) were not predicted by this approach. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2011b,

title = {Isotactic polypropylene crystallization: Analysis and modeling},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014305711000589},

doi = {10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2011.02.005},

issn = {00143057},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-05-01},

journal = {European Polymer Journal},

volume = {47},

number = {5},

pages = {1097--1112},

abstract = {The relevance of crystallization phenomena during the processing of semi-crystalline polymers is well known. Despite the huge investigation work done in the field, a full description of the crystallization kinetics under non-isothermal conditions still lacks. In this work, a commercial semi-crystalline polymer, an isotactic polypropylene, was studied in term of isothermal crystallization and of crystallization during cooling in a large range of cooling rate. The entire experimental behavior \textendash solidification at high cooling rates, alpha-phase crystallization kinetics at intermediate cooling rates, and secondary crystallization at low cooling rates \textendash was carefully quantified. Finally, a model able to reproduce all the observed features was proposed and tuned, to build a tool useful for the transformation processes simulation codes.},

keywords = {Crystallization kinetics, iPP, Modeling, Non-isothermal},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Lamberti2011,

title = {Controlled release from hydrogel-based solid matrices. A model accounting for water up-take, swelling and erosion.},

author = { Gaetano Lamberti and Ivan Galdi and Anna Angela Barba},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517311000548},

doi = {10.1016/j.ijpharm.2011.01.023},

issn = {1873-3476},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-04-01},

journal = {International journal of pharmaceutics},

volume = {407},

number = {1-2},

pages = {78--86},

abstract = {Design and realization of drug delivery systems based on polymer matrices could be greatly improved by modeling the phenomena which take place after the systems administration. Availability of a reliable mathematical model, able to predict the release kinetic from drug delivery systems, could actually replace the resource-consuming trial-and-error procedures usually followed in the manufacture of these latter. In this work, the complex problem of drug release from polymer (HPMC) based matrices systems was faced. The phenomena, previously observed and experimentally quantified, of water up-take, system swelling and erosion, and drug release were here described by transient mass balances with diffusion. The resulting set of differential equations was solved by using finite element methods. Two different systems were investigated: cylindrical matrices in which the transport phenomena were allowed only by lateral surfaces ("radial" case), and cylindrical matrices with the overall surface exposed to the solvent ("overall" case). A code able to describe quantitatively all the observed phenomena has been obtained.},

keywords = {drug release, Hydrogel Modeling, Hydrogels, Mathematical modeling, Swelling; Erosion},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Caccavo2011,

title = {Criteri per progettare e gestire il processo di granulazione},

author = { Diego Caccavo and Sara Cascone and Gaetano Lamberti},

year  = {2011},

date = {2011-01-01},

journal = {ICP Rivista dell'Industria Chimica},

volume = {4},

pages = {74--78},

abstract = {Un approccio ingegneristico, basato su poche misure e ripetibili, e coaudiuvato dalla modellazione fisico-matematica, pu\`{o} essere di grande aiuto nella gestione del processo di granulazione.},

keywords = {Granulation},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Dalmoro2010a,

title = {Enteric Micro-Particles for Targeted Oral Drug Delivery},

author = { Annalisa Dalmoro and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio and Anna Angela Barba and Matteo D'Amore},

url = {http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1208/s12249-010-9528-3},

doi = {10.1208/s12249-010-9528-3},

issn = {1530-9932},

year  = {2010},

date = {2010-12-01},

journal = {AAPS PharmSciTech},

volume = {11},

number = {4},

pages = {1500--1507},

publisher = {Springer US},

abstract = {This work is focused on production of enteric-coated micro-particles for oral administration, using a water-in-oil-in-water solvent evaporation technique. The active agent theophylline was first encapsulated in cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP), a pH-sensitive well-known polymer, which is insoluble in acid media but dissolves at neutral pH (above pH 6). In this first step, CAP was chosen with the aim optimizing the preparation and characterization methods. The desired release pattern has been obtained (low release at low pH, higher release at neutral pH) but in presence of a low encapsulation efficiency. Then, the CAP was replaced by a novel-synthesized pH-sensitive poly(methyl methacrylate\textendashacrylic acid) copolymer, poly(MMA\textendashAA). In this second step, the role of two process parameters was investigated, i.e., the percentage of emulsion stabilizer (polyvinyl alcohol, PVA) and the stirring power for the double emulsion on the encapsulation efficiency. The encapsulation efficiency was found to increase with PVA percentage and to decrease with the stirring power. By increasing the PVA content and by decreasing the stirring power, a high stable double emulsion was obtained, and this explains the increase in encapsulation efficiency found.},

keywords = {coating, drug targeting, emulsion, Micro and Nano Vectors, microencapsulation, polymeric drug delivery systems},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{DiMuria2010,

title = {Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetics: A Simple, All Purpose Model},

author = { Michela Di Muria and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

url = {http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie9015717},

doi = {10.1021/ie9015717},

issn = {0888-5885},

year  = {2010},

date = {2010-03-01},

journal = {Industrial \& Engineering Chemistry Research},

volume = {49},

number = {6},

pages = {2969--2978},

publisher = {American Chemical Society},

abstract = {To predict the drug hemeatic levels after administration is a goal of great interest in the design of novel pharmaceutical systems and in therapies management. The most reliable approach in pharmacokinetic modeling consists in analyzing the physiology of the living beings and in describing tissues and organs as different biochemical reactors. These models have been identified as physiologically based pharmacokinetic models (PBPK). They can be very detailed in the description, but, in this case, they also claim for the knowledge of an high number of parameters which are difficult to be determined by experiments. In this work, a review of the most complete PBPK models proposed in literature was performed, and a novel PBPK model was developed and validated by comparison with in vivo data available in the literature. The appeals of the novel model are its simplicity and the limited number of parameters required. Last but not least, it was proved able to predict the hemeatic drug levels after different kinds of administrations (intravenous injection, oral assumption of delayed release tablets).},

keywords = {In silico, Pharmacokinetics},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2010,

title = {Processi intensificati in ambito farmaceutico: le applicazioni di potenza delle microonde},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and G Guidotti and Matteo D'Amore},

year  = {2010},

date = {2010-01-01},

journal = {NCF-Notiziario Chimico Farmaceutico},

volume = {49},

number = {1},

pages = {68--71},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Dalmoro2010,

title = {Dosare dove serve},

author = { Annalisa Dalmoro and Oriana Villano and Anna Angela Barba and Gaetano Lamberti},

issn = {0393-3733},

year  = {2010},

date = {2010-01-01},

journal = {NCF-Notiziario Chimico Farmaceutico},

volume = {49},

number = {4},

pages = {112--114},

keywords = {Micro and Nano Vectors},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2009h,

title = {On the behavior of HPMC/Theophylline matrices for controlled drug delivery},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Matteo D'Amore and Sara Cascone and Serafina Chirico and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/jps.21701},

doi = {10.1002/jps.21701},

issn = {00223549},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-11-01},

journal = {Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences},

volume = {98},

number = {11},

pages = {4100--4110},

publisher = {Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company},

abstract = {Design of systems for oral controlled release of drug could take advantages from the knowledge of which phenomena take place. In this work matrices obtained by powders compression (50:50, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, a swelling hydrogel, and theophylline, a model drug) were immersed in water at 37 degrees C, allowing the water uptake and the drug release by lateral surface, confining the cylindrical matrices between glass slides. The tablets, after given immersion times, were withdrawn, cut in several annuli, and subsequently analyzed for the drug and the water concentration radial profiles. The data confirmed the pseudo-diffusive nature of the process, allowing to give a deep insight into the drug release process from swellable hydrogel matrices. In particular, it was confirmed the presence of nonhomogeneous gel layer, rich in water and poor in drug, with a profile of drug concentration which agrees well with a pseudo-diffusion phenomenon.},

keywords = {Diffusion, drug release, HPMC, Hydrogel Characterization, swellable hydrogels, Theophylline},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2009f,

title = {Swelling of cellulose derivative (HPMC) matrix systems for drug delivery},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Matteo D'Amore and Serafina Chirico and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0144861709002707},

doi = {10.1016/j.carbpol.2009.05.001},

issn = {01448617},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-10-01},

journal = {Carbohydrate Polymers},

volume = {78},

number = {3},

pages = {469--474},

abstract = {The water swellable hydrogels are commonly used in the production of solid pharmaceutical dosage systems for oral administration (matrices). Their use allows to obtain the controlled drug release. The key role is played by the transport phenomena which take place: water up-take, gel swelling and erosion, increase in diffusivity due to hydration. Thus, knowledge of these phenomena is fundamental in designing and realizing the pharmaceutical systems. In this work, tablets made of pure hydrogel, HydroxyPropyl-MethylCellulose (HPMC), were produced and immersed in a thermostatic bath filled with stirred distilled water (37°C). The water up-take was allowed only by radial direction (from the lateral surface) by confining the tablet between two glass slides. Two distinct methods, an optical technique already described in a previous work, and a gravimetric procedure described here, were applied to measure the water concentration profiles along the radial direction in the tablets. The data obtained were used both to clarify the nature of the transport phenomena involved, and to perform a better tuning of a mathematical model previously proposed.},

keywords = {Erosion, Extended release, HPMC, Hydrogel Characterization, Swelling, Water diffusion},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2009e,

title = {Investigation of Pluronic© F127-Water solutions phase transitions by DSC and dielectric spectroscopy},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Matteo D'Amore and Mario Grassi and Serafina Chirico and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/app.30586},

doi = {10.1002/app.30586},

issn = {00218995},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-10-01},

journal = {Journal of Applied Polymer Science},

volume = {114},

number = {2},

pages = {688--695},

publisher = {Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company},

abstract = {The water solutions of the block copolymers PEOn-PPOm-PEOn, known as pluronics, show a complex thermal behavior, since they are liquid at low temperature (5°C), and they can give soft gel when heated at body temperature (37°C). These properties are of great interest in biomedical applications. To properly design these applications, a prerequisite is the knowledge of the thermodynamics\textemdashhow much\textemdashand of the kinetics\textemdashhow fast\textemdashwith which these transformations take place. In this work, solutions of F127 (the copolymer for which n = 100 and m = 65) were studied by varying the concentration and the temperature and analyzing their behavior when heated under several heating rates. The studies were performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DCS) and dielectric spectroscopy. The investigations carried out under equilibrium conditions allowed us to determine the thermodynamics of the phase transitions, whereas the investigations carried out under varying conditions allowed us to quantify the kinetics of the phase transitions. Empirical models were also proposed to describe both the thermodynamics and the kinetics observed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009},

keywords = {biological applications of polymers, block copolymers, dielectric properties, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gelation, Hydrogel Characterization},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}