Research Projects

Chronic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that affects the load-bearing joint cavity, such as the knee. Despite significant progress in biopharmaceutical industry in the last two decades, there is no permanent cure for RA. Current pharmacotherapies, such as Methotrexate (MTX), have serious safety and efficacy concerns. Tofacitinib citrate, a potential next-generation anti-rheumatic drug, has been approved by the US FDA and the European Union for clinical use in treating moderate to severe active RA in adults who respond to MTX therapy. It inhibits the janus kinase (JAK) pathway, decreasing immune cell levels and RA progression in the joint cavity. However, its use is limited due to potential toxic side-effects such as high blood pressure, bacterial infections, cancer, and pulmonary embolism. Polymeric hydrogel formulations have limitations due to their high viscosity, requirement of chemical cross-linkers, quick drug release, and clogging during injections. Additionally, chemically crosslinked polymeric hydrogels have translational limitations, such as deformation after intra-articular injections and degraded by-products causing safety issues. A novel amphiphile-based self-healing hydrogel matrix can survive for a long period in the movable load-bearing part of the body, such as the knee joint cavity. The development of advanced drug nano/microscale crystals-based localized depots for sustained dissolution release kinetics as next-generation drug delivery systems has tremendous possibilities for translational technologies.