Paid Diploma

Paid Diploma / Master's Thesis
**Eye-novative approach for small-scale manufacturing of Ocular implants**
Ref.No DA181

To dedicated students of Chemistry, Technical Chemistry, Pharmacy, Chemical Engineering, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, or related disciplines.

**Objective**

Traditional manufacturing processes for ocular drug delivery implants, such as extrusion and microinjection molding, are wasteful and resource-heavy. They require hundreds of grams of polymer and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), which poses a bottleneck in the early stages of product development, especially for expensive APIs or if only small amounts of API are available.

The thesis aims to develop, test, and optimize a new processing platform for small-scale manufacturing of ocular implants. This technology should pose a fast and nearly waste-free approach, allowing formulation screening in the blink of an eye (). Within this thesis, you will:

- Perform a literature review of current strategies for industrial-scale and small-scale production of ocular implants
- Work on formulation development, conduct thermal and rheological material characterization in the lab and analyze the generated data
- Optimize the implant production process
- Characterize the produced implants (determination of drug content, in-vitro drug-release testing, etc.)

We are looking for a motivated and detail-oriented individual who is genuinely interested in advancing the field of ocular drug delivery. You will be working with small material quantities, so a careful and systematic approach is essential.

**Withing the framework of this diploma / master’s thesis we offer the following**:

- Extensive participation in a top-level and industrially relevant research project in an international environment
- Supervised training in the task
- Assistance of experienced staff with the implementation of innovative ideas
- Access to highly modern infrastructure on campus of Graz University of Technology
- Assistance with the publication of results

**Financing**:

- Compensation on the basis of a service contract

If you are interested in writing your thesis at the interface between university research and industry/ business and to contribute to the optimization of product and process development in the pharmaceutical industry, please contact us indicating the reference number.