8th International Symposium on Phospholipids in Pharmaceutical Research

September 09 – 11, 2024, Heidelberg, Germany

Phospholipid Research: Funding & Exploring

The independent Phospholipid Research Center connects scientists interested in phospholipids from academia and industry all over the world. Our aim: to discover and utilize the full potential of phospholipids.

Phospholipids are already included in numerous approved drug products, but their potential is far from exhausted: Phospholipids are extremely well tolerated, and their capabilities go far beyond those of conventional emulsifiers or solubilizers.

The Phospholipid Research Center is dedicated to exploring and exploiting this latent potential. We promote research into new and optimized applications for phospholipids, with a special focus on the development of new and improved dosage forms for pharmaceutical use.

Because of the diversity of the applications and properties of this fascinating group of substances, networking among international scientists with various interests in phospholipids is necessary and one of the fundamental tasks of our research center.

If your interest in project financing has already been aroused, go to our phospholipid funding page.

 

Benefit from our knowledge and our network

You can also become an active member in the phospholipid community and the Phospholipid Research Center to work together with phospholipid researchers around the world and to explore jointly the great world of phospholipids. You can find more information on the membership the Active Member and Corporate Member pages.

The World of Phospholipids

The world of phospholipids

What are phospholipids and what are they good for?

Phospholipids are unique and versatile molecules. Phospholipids are of natural occurrence and the main components in cellular membranes. Arranged as a lipid bilayer, phospholipids play an important role in the structure and functionality of biological membranes.

The phospholipid itself is amphiphilic, which means that this molecule loves both worlds, the water and the fat. It consists of a hydrophilic (“water loving”) headgroup and one or mostly two lipophilic (“fat loving”) alkyl chains, that are long hydrocarbon chains or simply fatty acid chains. Both parts are connected via a glycerol moiety. Due to this modular structure of phospholipids consisting of fatty acids of variable length and degree of saturation and different headgroups, the number of phospholipids is almost unlimited.

Phospholipids are highly soluble in many organic solvents, whereas in water, they spontaneously form different three-dimensional aggregates due to their amphiphilic nature. The structure of these aggregates strongly depends on the structure of the headgroup, the length and degree of unsaturation of the fatty acid chains, and the pH and ionic strength of the aqueous surroundings. Due to their structural diversity, phospholipids are widely used in various pharmaceutical dosage forms.

To dive deeper into the world of phospholipid, follow the links: Here you will learn more about the different phospholipid types, the difference between natural and synthetic phospholipids, the phospholipid benefits and their natural occurrence, the different phospholipid aggregates formed in aqueous suspension, and the most diverse pharmaceutical formulations and applications of this wonderful class of molecules.

More than 100 funded projects

Phospholipid projects: Funding

Find out what phospholipid-related projects are funded by the Phospholipid Research Center.

Since 2006, the Phospholipid Research Center has been funding research into phospholipid excipients for pharmaceutical use. The overall aim is to expand the knowledge of the pharmaceutical and technical application of phospholipid excipients, their ability to improve, for example, the bioavailability and tolerability of active pharmaceutical ingredients in all possible routs of application, that are oral, topical, pulmonary, and parenteral dosage forms, and to increase their use as active ingredients.

If your interest in project financing has already been aroused, you can go directly to Funding of projects.

The Phospholipid Research Center supports research projects in the above-mentioned areas through grants for PhD theses or postdoctoral projects at academic institutes around the world. The PRC also funds scientific events auch as symposia or a workshop to bring phospholipid experts together.

If you want to see which exciting projects the Phospholipid Research Center has already funded or is currently funding, look at our funded projects section. Here you can also choose which projects you would like to focus on by selecting a category of interest, for example parenteral use or drug delivery, or by selecting a type of lipid aggregates you are most familiar with. Try it out!

More than 250 publications

What to know about phospholipids

Explore recent scientific publications in field of phospholipid research.
VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS

News and Trends

What is new about phospholipids

Follow recent news and trends in phospholipid-related research from Academia & Industry.
VIEW ALL NEWS

Upcoming Events

Meet phospholipid experts

Take part in upcoming events, workshops, symposia, or conferences covering the world of phospholipids.
VIEW ALL EVENTS