Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 20: A Jammu Scientist among team of Engineers and Pharmacologists has developed a nanoparticle that can stimulate growth of bone forming cells and deliver the drug used for osteoporosis straight to the affected area.
The team of engineers and pharmacologists from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, has come up with the modified Zoledronic acid (ZOL) drug, which has proved to be effective in treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
About nine million bone fractures occur each year due to osteoporosis, a progressive bone disease in which bone loses both its mass and density, thereby becoming weaker. Current treatment regimes involve restricting further bone damage, but not restoring previous strength.
ZOL is a commonly used drug, successfully reducing risk of fracture in post-menopausal women. The modified ZOL drug used in the study has a high affinity to bone and prevents further bone loss. “We have designed a new formulation, where the ZOL is first adsorbed on nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite and carried to osteoporotic bone by intravenous injection”, said lead researcher in the project, Deepak Kumar Khajuria from Katra in Jammu.
“We are able to demonstrate successfully that this formulation not only prevents further bone loss, but also stimulates bone growth”, he added.
Deepak Kumar Khajuria did his schooling from Trikuta Public High School Katra and SRML Higher Secondary School Jammu. He received M Pharm in Pharmacology in 2009 at Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, and completed Ph D in Experimental Pharmacology at Department of Pharmacology, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy (under Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, Bangalore), in September, 2014.
Presently, Deepak is working as a Post Doctoral Fellow at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
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