Consultant

Principal Consultant:

Dr Farhan Mirza (BSc, MSc, PhD)

Mirza Nano Solutions was founded by Dr Farhan Mirza in 2016 for the purpose of consulting for small and medium-sized companies in the Pharmaceutical and Medical industries.

Farhan has expertise in Pharmaceuticals and Nanomedicine. He recently completed his doctorate, researching bone growth on orthopaedic implants. He conducted high quality novel medical research on behalf of European orthopaedic implants manufacturer Sintea Plustek (in conjunction with Cranfield University). The research aimed to improve titanium-based orthopaedic implants by utilising the in-vivo effects of the tripeptide RGD, a peptide sequence natively found in bone proteins. It was thought that this particular peptide sequence could enhance bone growth around orthopaedic implants, improving patient healing rates, as well as providing stronger bone-to-implant contact. The research led to the development of a nanofunctionalised RGD linked biopolymer coating. This coating, when produced on a titanium-based orthopaedic implant analogue (titanium alloy disc), significantly increased the amount of hydroxyapatite bone mineral produced versus the control. His research showed that the RGD peptide sequence produced a favourable response that could enhance existing titanium-based orthopaedic implants.

During Farhan's masters degree, he completed a 6 month project which evaluated the potential use of fullerene (Buckyballs) nanoparticles and Hyperbranched Polyglycerol (HBPG) as a multifunctional drug delivery system. By creating a core-shell nanoparticle of fullerol (polyhydroxylated fullerene) and polyglycerol, it was thought that the polymer matrix could entrap the chemotherapeutic agent Doxorubicin and subsequently release it, while the fullerol nanoparticles could provide a secondary avenue to kill cancer cells via Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), as well as enhance cancer imaging.

In the final stages of Farhan's undergraduate studies, he completed a 5 month desk-based project to assess the health benefits of lifestyle modifications to Primary and Secondary Coronary Heart Disease patients.