On 10 November 2025, Elisa Millet presented a poster entitled “Design of site-specific enteric capsule for terminal ileal drug delivery” at PharmSci 360, the annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS).
Scientific contribution
The presented poster focused on the development of a dual-layer enteric capsule designed for site-specific release at the end of the ileum, with the potential to surpass the performance of the commercial Enprotect® capsule. The system comprises an inner water-soluble layer of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) blended with pullulan, and an outer ethylcellulose layer incorporating sodium alginate as a pore-forming agent.
The primary objective is to evaluate the impact of sodium alginate concentration (3%, 4%, 9%) and curing conditions (temperature/relative humidity) on capsule disintegration behaviour across physiologically relevant pH stages mimicking the gastrointestinal tract.
Conference context and audience
The work was presented at an international scientific conference dedicated to pharmaceutical formulation and oral drug delivery. The audience included academic researchers, formulation scientists, and industrial experts from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Interactions primarily involved scientists from competitor companies.
Scientific exchange and feedback
The poster generated strong interest, particularly regarding the influence of curing conditions on capsule disintegration performance. Discussions also addressed the SEM analysis of capsule shell cross-sections, which highlighted chain organisation within the layer as well as key structural characteristics.
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