Developed skills and lines of research

Francesca Ungaro is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation at the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Naples Federico II. She obtained her PhD in 2003 from the Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry of the same university. Dr. Ungaro’s research activity has as its main direction the design and development of biodegradable nano- and microparticulate systems for drug delivery. In recent years, in particular, research has focused on the design and development of new carriers for pulmonary drug delivery. Since 2007, she has begun studying new strategies for the local treatment of inflammation and chronic infection in cystic fibrosis. In this context, Dr. Ungaro is also coordinator of the Breathe project, funded under the STAR 2013 Program of the University of Naples by the Compagnia di San Paolo. To date, her research activity has resulted in over 55 scientific articles in international scientific journals, 1 Editorial, 1 patent, 4 book chapters, including one e-book. The results of this research have also been the subject of more than 100 contributions to national and international conferences.

Projects funded by FFC Ricerca as Principal Investigator or as Research Manager

FFC#25/2018
Enabling pulmonary delivery of siRNA in cystic fibrosis lung inflammation: therapeutic potential of hybrid lipid/polymer nanoparticles

FFC#23/2017
Enabling pulmonary delivery of siRNA in cystic fibrosis lung inflammation: therapeutic potential of hybrid lipid/polymer nanoparticles

Projects financed by FFC Ricerca as a partner

FFC#19/2015
Inhalable formulations of new molecules effective against Burkholderia cenocepacia: from in vitro to in vivo applications

FFC#12/2014
Inhalable dry powders for chemically-modified human Cationic AntiMicrobial Peptides (CAMPs): moving toward in vivo application

FFC#11/2013
Inhalable dry powders for chemically-modified human Cationic AntiMicrobial Peptides (CAMPs): moving toward in vivo application

FFC#10/2013
Anti-virulence therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa: identification of antibiofilm drugs and development of inhalable Niclosamide and Flucytosine formulations

Publications from FFC Research projects

De Stefano D, Coletta C, Bianca Rd et al. A decoy oligonucleotide to NF-κB delivered through inhalable particles prevents LPS-induced rat airway inflammation. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2013 Aug;49(2):288-95. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2012-0473OC. 

D’Angelo I, Conte C, Ungaro F, et al. Improving the efficacy of inhaled drugs in cystic fibrosis: challenges and emerging drug delivery strategies. Adv Drug Deliv Rev, 2014 Aug;75:92-111. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2014.05.008. Epub 2014 May 17.

D’Angelo I, Casciaro B, Ungaro F, et al. Overcoming barriers in Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections: Engineered nanoparticles for local delivery of a cationic antimicrobial peptide. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces, 2015 Nov 1;135:717-25. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2015.08.027. Epub 2015 Aug 22.

Costabile G, D’Angelo I, Ungaro F, et al. Toward Repositioning Niclosamide for Antivirulence Therapy of Pseudomonas aeruginosa LungInfections: Development of Inhalable Formulations through Nanosuspension Technology. Mol Pharm, 2015 Aug 3;12(8):2604-17. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.5b00098. Epub 2015 May 27.

Ungaro Francesca and Merkel Olivia M. Enabling pulmonary delivery of siRNA in cystic fibrosis lung inflammation: therapeutic potential of hybrid lipid/polymer nanoparticles. 
The Proceedings of the 16th Italian Convention of Investigators in Cystic Fibrosis. Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, 2019, 14 (Suppl 1):5