Supported Statement

1. How did you choose your proposed course and institution? (perbaiki yg ini ya, Ayu)
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria
attacking organs particularly lung. According to WHO data, 1.5 million people suffering from TB
died in 2014. Indonesia is one of the countries contributing to death number of TB in the world.
Indonesia has performed TB restraint for a long duration. Although in 2012 TB prevalence
lowered, in 2015 TB prevalence has increased and reached 647 cases per 100,000 residents and
resulted in the raising of Indonesia’s rank as the third country with the highest case of TB in the
world.
One of factors affecting this high prevalence is patient’s low adherence because of
numeral and long term medication. TB drug administration by oral route also results in low drug
bioavailability so that only small amount of drug can reach the target, alveolus. Moreover, the
drugs passing systemic blood system cause some adverse effects.
To overcome the problems, developing inhalable nanoparticles can help increase patient
adherence, prevent the raise of drug resistance and adverse effect. Pharmacy nanoparticles in
Indonesia has been preferred by many scientists. But lack in instruments to perform
characterization of nanoparticles is still a dilemma to advance the field, for instance unavailability
of Dynamic Light Scattering. Moreover, pulmonary drug delivery of nanoparticles has not been
improved yet and based on observation, research publication of nanoparticles pulmonary drug
delivery formulation is not available in Indonesia. Because of instruments and human resource
boundaries and also urgency to develop the formulation for TB case, this field has potency to be
developed in advance stage.
From my observation of institution in Australia, Monash University offers Master by
Research of Pharmaceutical Science by preparing research program topic of Drug Powder
Inhalation Product for anti-infective. I am sure this proposed study can provide knowledge to solve
the TB problem and develop drug delivery.

2. How will the proposed study contribute to your career?

Pursuing Master by Research in the Pharmaceutical Science field will take me as a
researcher in that field particularly in the field of drug delivery system and nanoparticle. By the
credible knowledge and trained skill during the education as research student, I would like to apply
and partake in the line of pharmacy education in Indonesia as an educator or a lecture and a
researcher in a university restrictively in institution which has brought me up. From the proposed
study, I will learn much more about how to make the best formulation of nanoparticle treated as
dry powder inhalation for pulmonary delivery, and how to characterize and determine the
disposition and dynamic of a dosage form to be able to investigate the effectiveness of the dosage
form whether it is proper to be employed for patient suffering from a disease. By mastering that
field, I would like to share and distribute my knowledge and skills to the students in class or
laboratory as well as other researchers in the same field or even in different fields. Performing
some research projects related to the field that I am interested in will nourish me as researcher in
pharmaceutical science to be able to overcome or even prevent a health problem by designing a
new innovation. I would like to involve students to join my research so that I can deliver the skills
that I have. To sum up, this proposed study will encourage me to be a lecture and researcher,
share the knowledge, idea, and also innovation in the field of pharmaceutical science so that the
continuity of the knowledge and science will be preserved and can be enhanced to solve health
problem in Indonesia.

3. How have you contributed to solving a challenge and to implementing change or

reform? (Be specific and include what aspect/s of your leadership knowledge, skills,
and practice you consider to be well established and effective; which people or
organization you worked with solve the problem; and what creative method were used).
When I was a student of bachelor degree of pharmacy, I observed that pharmacy students
were busy because of versatile assignments for example lecture assignments, laboratory reports
and activities so that they had very limited time to finalize those assignments and obligations.
Many of the students only completed the assignment without understanding to what they had
worked on so that some students lacked in some fundamental subjects which are very important
in order to comprehend an advanced subject, for instance to master Pharmacology and
Toxicology as a subject which will lead the students to clinical pharmacy, they have to understand
more of the Human Anatomy and Physiology and Molecular Pharmacology. However, many of
them still cannot decide which field they will take based on their capability. Early specification and
understanding on fields of pharmacy and what field that they will focus on are very meaningful to
produce a proficient pharmacist in the future.
Based on that circumstance, my friends and I established a study club in 2013 which
specifies to the fields of pharmacy, which are Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Technology.
This study club is a place where the students gain depiction to decide what field they will keen on
and they are provided with further learning and discussion which are not obtained in the class
about the fundamental subjects because of limited time or even lack of student’s confidence in
class. By having delicate basic in a particular field will assist them to master their field of interest.
This study club recruits students who have high willingness, seriousness, and zeal to study
and learn more. We cooperate with some lecturers as the speakers to guide us to run this study
club and also cooperate with some senior students who have outstanding capability in a particular
field to provide and discuss the subjects as well as some problems issued in pharmacy. This study
club takes study time once a week in the weekend. We expect that this study club is able to open
their mind, improve talent and skill of the students, and also provide them with comprehension of
a specific field so that they will be talented pharmacists in the future and ready to attach to
employment world. For example, field of interest in Pharmacology encourages them to link with
patient and health care in hospital, clinic, or dispensary. At least, this study club can help the
students to decide what kind of future they want to gain.

4. Please :
a) Give up to three practical examples of how you intend to use the knowledge, skills,
and connections you will gain from your scholarship. Possible tasks can be
personal and/ or professional; and
b) List any possible constrains you think may prevent you from achieving this tasks.
Practical examples that I intend to use my knowledge and skill from the scholarship are:
- Further research and development in nanoparticle drug delivery system for TB drugs by
pulmonary route are very important to be performed in order to overcome the raising of TB
case in Indonesia. Submitting research proposal to the government or institution that provides
research fund for researchers in Indonesia is one of the plans that I would like to perform to
improve the research about nanoparticle formulation of TB drugs which is administered by
pulmonary, and also other topics related to pulmonary drug delivery system. The researches
will be performed by utilizing available resources and facilities in Indonesia because of limited
fund, materials, and facilities prepared by government to perform the research.
- Besides performing some mini researches that I have mentioned above, the next plan I intend
to do is being a lecture in the university where I completed my bachelor education. By
becoming lecture is one of the ways to apply my knowledge that I have gained from my study
to the students and also it is expected to be able to further the students’ knowledge and
awareness of advanced pharmaceutical science. Moreover, by using that I am able to
accustom and embrace the continuity of knowledge and science in pulmonary drug delivery
 system not only by delivering the theory but also by applying in researches performed by
students or even other scientists in the pharmacy field.
However, there are some constraints which are probable to come out in order to bring on
my plans that I have revealed above, those which are less supported by government and/ or
institution to undergo the research. Limited fund can be the constraint for that reason, because
government still grants small amount of fund in the field of scientific research. Another problem is
incomplete and insufficient instruments as well as facilities, as a consequence the research will
be performed by benefit material and facilities which are available in Indonesia and there is
probability to omit some parameters and characterizations in the research.

Research Plan

Research Title:
Characterization and Evaluation of Inhalable Dry Powder Formulation of Liposomal Anti-
tubercular Drug

Objectives:
This research is aimed at formulating, determining characteristics, and evaluating preclinical study
of anti-tubercular drug which is prepared into inhalable dry powder liposome so that this
formulation is expected to act in targeted tissue of the lung infected by Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, increase patient adherence and reduce the adverse effects of anti-tubercular drug
as well.

Significance and possible application of your research to your country’s development:

By gaining knowledge and skill obtained from the research, the science can be applied to
overcome the problem of TB in Indonesia. Nanoparticles and pulmonary delivery are promising
field to modify anti-tubercular drugs to decrease drug dose and drug taking frequency, deliver the
drugs directly to the affected organs, increase patient adherence, and minimize adverse effect of
TB drugs as well. It is expected that by applying this field it can deplete the TB prevalence in
Indonesia and improve quality life of the society.
Another application of the research is to provide a new advanced drug delivery in pharmacy in
the field of research and education, so that the knowledge is not only implemented in overcoming
TB disease but also used in other pulmonary diseases and drugs that are significant to enhance
health degree in Indonesia.
Methodology:
Preparation of drug formulation
Liposome is prepared by ionotropic gelation method. Chitosan is dissolved in acetic acid then
added Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, and tripolyphosphate under stirring. Dry powder drug
is prepared by spray-drying the liposome with leucine.
Characterization
The characterization includes morphology and size of nanoparticles, zeta potential, and
aerodynamic characteristics. Surface morphology is analyzed by using Scanning Electron
Microscopy. Dynamic Light Scattering is used to analyze nanoparticles’ size and polydispersity
index. Surface charge is observed by Zetasizer. Aerodynamic characteristics are performed using
Multistage Liquid Impringer.
Pre-clinical Evaluation
It is performed by determining anti-mycobacterial using THP-1 cell line-derived macrophages
infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, kinetics and transport mechanism using Calu-3 cell
line.

References:
1. Garg T., Rath G., Goyal A. K. Inhalable chitosan nanoparticles as antitubercular drug carriers
for an effective treatment of tuberculosis. Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology:
1-5 (2015).
2. Bhavya M. V., Gowda D. V., Srivastava A., Aravind Ram A. S., Osmani R. A. M. Development
and Characterization of Ethionamide loaded microparticles as Dry Powder Inhalers for Multi-
drug Resistant Tuberculosis. Der Pharmacia Lettre 8 (8): 273-279 (2016).
3. Podda G. Chitosan and PLGA Microspheres as Drug Delivery System Against Pulmonary
Mycobacteria Infections (Dissertation). University of Cagliari Department Farmaco Chimico
Tecnologico.
4. Parumasivam T., Chang R. Y. K., Abdelghany S., Ye T. T., Britton W. J., Chan H. Dry powder
inhalable formulations for anti-tubercular therapy. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews xxx: xxx–
xxx (2016).
5. M. Rajan, V. Raj. Formation and characterization of chitosan-polylacticacid-polyethylene
glycol-gelatin nanoparticles: A novel biosystem for controlled drug delivery. Carbohydrate
Polymers 98: 951– 958 (2013).
6. Ong H. X., Traini D., Young P. M. Pharmaceutical applications of the Calu-3 lung epithelia
cell line. Expert Opin. Drug Deliv. 10 (9): 1287-1302 (2013).
7. Paranjpe M., Müller-Goymann C. C. Nanoparticle-Mediated Pulmonary Drug Delivery: A
Review. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 15: 5852-5873 (2014)