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Dr. Brunella Grassiri

Research Fellow (Pharmacy)
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Brunella Grassiri

Research Fellow (Pharmacy)

 grassirb@tcd.ie

 


Brunella Grassiri is a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, specializing in solubility enhancement, inhalable formulations, and mucoadhesive excipients. She graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Pisa, completing her experimental master's thesis at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Innsbruck (Austria). In March 2024, she earned her PhD in Science of Drugs and Bioactive Substances from the University of Pisa, which included a ten-month research stay at the School of Pharmacy, Trinity College Dublin. Brunella has presented her research at leading international conferences, including PBP 2022 (Rotterdam) and the International Cyclodextrin Symposium 2022, and received the 2023 Pat Burnell Young Investigator Award at Drug Delivery to the Lungs (Edinburgh). Since joining Prof. Anne Marie Healy's group at Trinity, she has contributed to translational projects with strong industrial relevance. As Chemistry Lead for an Enterprise Ireland-funded project (2024-2025) on spray encapsulation of ionic liquids (SEncIL technology), she helped advance the platform toward commercialization, gaining experience in customer discovery, and scientific entrepreneurship. In October 2025, she joined a multidisciplinary ARC-funded project on the pulmonary delivery of novel antimicrobials. Brunella is an active member of SSPC Research Ireland and, since March 2025, serves as Young Researcher Co-Chair of the ISAM Networking Group New Devices, Emerging Therapies, and e-Health.In this role, she promotes knowledge exchange, professional growth, and networking among early-career scientists in inhalation drug delivery and biopharmaceutical sciences.
Piras A.M., Bianchi M., Bona N.D., Grassiri B., Kaya E., Bertacca A., Migone C., Maisetta G., Esin S., Batoni G., Activity in an air"liquid interface lung infection model, feasibility of inhaled delivery, and stability of cell-free supernatants from Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus against Pseudomonas aeruginosa pulmonary infections, Frontiers in Microbiology, 16, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Grassiri B, Esin S, Piatek ME, More O'Ferrall L, Sake JA, Griffith DM, Kavanagh K, Ehrhardt C, Maria Piras A, Batoni G, Marie Healy A, The activity of a Ga(III) catecholate complex against Aspergillus fumigatus in conditions mimicking cystic fibrosis lung and inhaled formulations for its pulmonary administration., International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 667, (A), 2024, p124871 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Piatek, M. and Grassiri, B. and O'Ferrall, L.M. and Piras, A.M. and Batoni, G. and Esin, S. and O'Connor, C. and Griffith, D. and Healy, A.M. and Kavanagh, K., Quantitative proteomic analysis reveals Ga(III) polypyridyl catecholate complexes disrupt Aspergillus fumigatus mitochondrial function, Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 29, 2024, p707 - 717, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Cerri L., Migone C., Vizzoni L., Grassiri B., Fabiano A., Piras A.M., Zambito Y., Cross-Linked Thiolated Hydroxypropil-ß-Cyclodextrin for Pulmonary Drug Delivery, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25, (17), 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Migone C., Grassiri B., Vizzoni L., Fabiano A., Ferro B., Zambito Y., Piras A.M., Aerosol of Enoximone/Hydroxypropyl-ß-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex, Biopharmaceutical Evidence for ARDS Applicability, Pharmaceutics, 16, (9), 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Sanchez Armengol E., Grassiri B., Piras A.M., Zambito Y., Fabiano A., Laffleur F., Endophthalmitis therapy revolution: Proof of concept based on in vivo evaluation of maleic acid modified chitosan, Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 96, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Sanchez Armengol E., Grassiri B., Piras A.M., Zambito Y., Fabiano A., Laffleur F., Ocular antibacterial chitosan-maleic acid hydrogels: In vitro and in vivo studies for a promising approach with enhanced mucoadhesion, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 254, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Lucia Vizzoni, Chiara Migone, Brunella Grassiri, Ylenia Zambito, Baldassare Ferro, Paolo Roncucci, Filippo Mori, Alfonso Salvatore, Ester Ascione, Roberto Crea, Semih Esin, Giovanna Batoni, Anna Maria Piras, Biopharmaceutical Assessment of Mesh Aerosolised Plasminogen, a Step towards ARDS Treatment, Pharmaceutics, 15, (6), 2023, p1618 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Grassiri B., Mezzetta A., Maisetta G., Migone C., Fabiano A., Esin S., Guazzelli L., Zambito Y., Batoni G., Piras A.M., Betaine- and L-Carnitine-Based Ionic Liquids as Solubilising and Stabilising Agents for the Formulation of Antimicrobial Eye Drops Containing Diacerein, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24, (3), 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Brunella Grassiri and Patrick Knoll and Angela Fabiano and Anna Maria Piras and Ylenia Zambito and Andreas Bernkop-Schnürch, Thiolated Hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin: A Potential Multifunctional Excipient for Ocular Drug Delivery, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23, (5), 2022, p2612 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

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Award Date
Pat Burnell Young Investigator Award, Drug Delivery to the Lungs Conference (DDL), December 2023
Dr. Brunella Grassiri's research focuses on the design and biopharmaceutical characterization of advanced drug delivery systems for ocular, oral, and pulmonary administration. Her work aims to enhance drug solubility, permeability, and therapeutic efficacy through innovative formulation strategies and translational approaches. During her PhD at the University of Pisa, she developed mucoadhesive and inhalable formulations for respiratory and ocular diseases, exploring drug repurposing for ARDS and infection therapy. Her Master's research at the University of Innsbruck focused on the synthesis of thiolated cyclodextrins for ocular delivery. As Chemistry Lead at Trinity College Dublin, she worked on the SEncIL (Spray Encapsulation of Ionic Liquids) project, developing oral formulations to improve solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. She is now a Research Fellow within the ARC Hub for Therapeutics, contributing to inhaled antimicrobial formulation development and biopharmaceutical evaluation aimed at advancing inhalation therapies toward clinical translation.