1. Bachelor’s degree with a major in chemistry, biochemistry, biomedical technology, biomedical methods and technology, biomedical laboratory science or in other areas of natural, medical, engineering sciences or technology with a minimum of 15 credits in chemistry and/or biochemistry.
2. The equivalent of English B, or English 6, in Swedish secondary school
3. Passing 45 credits of the courses in the Master’s program semesters 1 and 2 or equivalent (transferable credits)

The course is given at the third semester of the Master’s Program in Biomedical Surface Science. The course is within the main field of the study and a mandatory course in the Master’s Program Biomedical Surface Science.

The aim of the course is for the student to acquire knowledge enabling the appreciation of the structure and function of biological barriers, as they are relevant to understand and develop means of non-invasive drug delivery and sensing.

The course outlines the current understanding of the structure and function of biological barriers. Colloidal and surface chemical features of barriers, specifically relating to nails, skin, mucous membranes, and plant cuticle are addressed. The barriers are considered as being exposed to air or solutions, and the different cases are explored separately. Barrier properties are explained in terms of adsorption, absorption, partition, diffusion, assessing kinetics and thermodynamics of transport through membranes. Effects of exogenous factors on structure-function relationships are emphasized. Particularly, the effects that are caused by changes of temperature, relative humidity, water activity and other ambient conditions are considered. Cases when these conditions are regulated or modelled by applying formulations are discussed. Pharmaceutical aspects are covered in brief. Modern non-invasive and minimally invasive drug delivery and sensing technologies are reviewed, e.g., micro-needle patches, iontophoresis, etc.

Upon completion of the course the student should be able to

1. describe the structure of biological barriers by considering their surface and colloidal chemical characteristics
2. relate the characteristics of biological barriers to adsorption, absorption, partition and diffusion phenomena at the barriers,
3. explain structural and functional response of barriers to ambient conditions
4. design appropriate strategies for non-invasive or minimally invasive drug delivery and sensing.

A variety of methods, including interactive lectures/discussions, journal club, laboratory experiments and self-studies will be employed for the purpose of achieving the learning outcomes 1-4. The particular work formats are chosen to secure student engagement and active student participation. Laboratory exercises and reports submissions are mandatory, enabling the achievement of learning outcome 4.

The learning outcomes 1-3 are examined through a written individual examination. The examination will emphasize the students’ ability to collect and integrate basic phenomena and settings, expressed as the dynamics of biological barriers, and also the ability to reflect on barrier ambient condition interactions. Individual written reports will examine the methodologically oriented learning outcome 4. Examination details are given in the study guide.

Right to Re-Take
Student who fail the exam are given the opportunity for two re-takes with the same course content and with the same requirements. The student also has the right to take the examination in the same course in the subsequent courses according to the same rule. Examination and re-takes are carried out at the times specified in the schedule.

Aulton, M., Taylor, K. Eds (2013) Aulton's Pharmaceutics, 4th ed., The Design and Manufacture of Medicines, Churchill Livingstone, pp.736.

Evans, D. F., Wennerström, H. (1999) The colloidal domain: Where physics, chemistry, biology, and technology meet. Wiley, NY, pp. 632.

Kulkarni, V. S., Ed (2010) Handbook of non-invasive drug delivery systems. Non-invasive and minimally invasive drug delivery systems for pharmaceutical and personal care products. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 301.

Scientific articles will be added.

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.