Voices in molecular pharmaceutics: Meet Dr. Zahari Vinarov, who unites physical chemistry and pharmacy to tackle fundamental and industrial biopharmaceutical challenges

Authors
Z. Vinarov
Journal
Mol. Pharm.
Year
2023
Volume
20
Pages
5949 - 5951
Z. Vinarov
Mol. Pharm. 2023
20
5949 - 5951
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Abstract

I am currently an associate professor, leading several research projects funded by the pharmaceutical industry or public research agencies. One of these projects is a five-year (2022–2027) national grant (the 3D GUT project), which aims to create a personalized, interactive, 3D virtual model of the human stomach and small intestine that can predict the phase distribution, absorption, and food interactions of oral drugs (small molecules, peptides, and RNA/DNA), based on advanced time-, space-, and phase-resolved in silico profiling of drug concentrations (Figure 1). To achieve this ambitious goal, our team will (1) capture gastrointestinal anatomy and dynamics via 3D MRI, providing personalization and describing interindividual variability in organ size and shape, (2) use computational fluid dynamics to study the real hydrodynamics at anatomically and physiologically relevant conditions, and (3) integrate all main physicochemical and biochemical reactions, at colloidal and molecular levels, including advanced formulation behavior, drug dissolution, phase distribution, and permeation. This challenging and highly multidisciplinary effort aims to lead to a novel simulation platform of the upper gastrointestinal tract, opening new horizons in personalized medicine, oral drug absorption, and food effects research, while facilitating the efforts to abolish animal studies.