The field of applied chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies is crucial for the pharmaceutical industry and the broader health and life sciences sector. This multidisciplinary research area encompasses a wide range of activities, including the creation of novel chemical entities that can lead to the discovery of new drugs or the enhancement of existing drug structures. It also involves the development of advanced sensors for precise and effective treatments, as well as imaging tools for visualising disease progression and creating targeted therapies. Additionally, this field focuses on innovating and refining drug delivery methods, leading to the development of new platforms, processes, devices, and therapies that benefit both healthcare and industry.
Our expertise covers the following areas:
- Medicinal chemistry
- Chemical sensors
- Imaging
- Drug design and formulation
- Chemical and Pharmaceutical Analysis
- Chemical Simulations
Aims
Our mission is to leverage our expertise in chemical and pharmaceutical sciences to drive significant advancements in product and process design, as well as healthcare interventions. While our primary focus is on pharmaceutical, biomedical, and healthcare sectors, we also maintain strong synergies with other process industries, such as the food industry.
Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we are committed to:
- SDG 3: Promoting good health and well-being
- SDG 4: Ensuring quality education
- SDG 6: Providing clean water and sanitation
- SDG 12: Encouraging responsible consumption and production
- SDG 13: Taking climate action
By using molecules to transform lives, we aim to set new standards in innovation and impact.
Theme Leaders
Dr Bhaven Patel
Dr Bruno Santos
Members
Dr Daniel Sykes
Dr Matthew Lam
Dr Kevin Devine
Dr Rhiannon Brooks
Dr Priyanka Ganguli
Dr Katherine Fisher
Amgad Gerges
PhD students
Haritha Sudha Nair
Angeliki Stika
Gulnar Hasanova
Reshma Nair
Mignon Cristofoli
Tamar Nicholson (co-supervision with University of Oxford)
Jingyi Gu (co-supervision with UCL School of Pharmacy)
Xin Chen (co-supervision with University of Oxford)
Zihan Yang (co-supervision with UCL School of Pharmacy)
Lu Han (co-supervision with UCL School of Pharmacy)
More information
- Ion pairing of APIs
- Synthesis of novel DKPs
- Disposable sEnsors for meTal deteCTion (DETECT)
- Glucose tattoo sensors
- Pyrroloquinoxaline Derived Sensors for Cu2+ Ion Detection
- disPosable sEnsor for Nicotine detection in vAping Liquids (PENAL)
- Antioxidant and Pro-oxidant status of food and beverages for culturally diverse backgrounds
- Thames Environment Fund - Empowering Communities: Analysing and Mitigating Microplastic Pollution in the River Thames through Citizen Science (£2500)
- London Metropolitan University Transformational Fund - DisPosable sEnsor for Nicotine detection in vAping Liquids (PENAL) (£6713)
- London Metropolitan University Rescaling Fund - Antioxidant and Pro‑oxidant status of food and beverages for culturally diverse backgrounds (£3500)
- RSC Inclusivity and Diversity fund - Advancing Inclusivity Through Collaboration: Co-Creating Digital Assessment Strategies with Mature Chemistry Students (£4500)
- RSC Undergraduate Research Bursary - Rationally designing effective antimicrobial peptides for targeting bacterial membranes (£3203)
- RSC Undergraduate Research Bursary - Synthesis of Plasmodium falciparum GDH inhibitors for the treatment of Malaria (£3000)
- RSC Undergraduate Research Bursary - The synthesis of multimetallic iridium (III) complexes (£2660)
- RSC Research Enablement Grant - The rational design of membrane curvature sensing peptides (£10,000)
- RSC Research Fund - The synthesis of iridium (III) complexes based on pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline and their derivatives (£3200)
- The Big Idea Challenge 2023 - The use of glucose tattoo sensors for biochemical analysis
- LearnSci Teaching Innovation Awards 2021 - Bridging undergraduates’ awarding gaps using Smart Worksheets at London Metropolitan University
- Outteridge M, Nunn CM, Devine K, Patel B, McLean GR. Antivirals for broader coverage against human coronaviruses. Viruses. 2024 Jan 20;16(1):156.
- Memarvar D, Yaqoubi S, Hamishehkar H, Lam M, Nokhodchi A. Impact of grinding balls on the size reduction of Aprepitant in wet ball milling procedure. Pharmaceutical Development and Technology. 2024 Apr 20;29(4):353-8.
- Cristofoli M, Hadgraft J, Lane ME, Sil BC. A model binary system for the evaluation of novel ion pair formulations of diclofenac. RSC Pharmaceutics. 2024; 1;:234-244.
- Jayanthi RK, Virdee BS, Lubangakene I, Ganguly P, Mariyanayagam D. The effect of temperature on permittivity measurements of aqueous solutions of glucose for the development of non-invasive glucose sensors based on electromagnetic waves. Results in Engineering. 2023 Dec 1;20:101506.
- Beniwal A, Ganguly P, Gond R, Rawat B, Li C. Room Temperature Operated PEDOT: PSS Based Flexible and Disposable NO 2 Gas Sensor. IEEE Sensors Letters. 2023; 7(9): 1-4
- Papineau D, Devine K, Nogueira BA. Self-similar patterns from abiotic decarboxylation metabolism through chemically oscillating reactions: A prebiotic model for the origin of life. Life. 2023 Feb 16;13(2):551.
- Damai M, Guzzardi N, Lewis V, Rao ZX, Sykes D, Patel B. Crafting mono-and novel bis-methylated pyrroloquinoxaline derivatives from a shared precursor and its application in the total synthesis of marinoquinoline A. RSC Advances. 2023;13(42):29561-7.
- Pointner MM, Fisher KR, Weidemann M, Wolf F, Wright JP, Bright EL, Giacobbe C, Oeckler O, Schnick W. Cr5. 7Si2. 3P8N24—A Chromium (+ IV) Nitridosilicate Phosphate with Amphibole‐Type Structure. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2024 Apr 2;63(14):e202401421.
- Sykes D, Cankut AJ, Ali NM, Stephenson A, Spall SJ, Parker SC, Weinstein JA, Ward MD. Sensitisation of Eu (III)-and Tb (III)-based luminescence by Ir (III) units in Ir/lanthanide dyads: evidence for parallel energy-transfer and electron-transfer based mechanisms. Dalton Transactions. 2014;43(17):6414-28.
- Gander C, Shi K, Nokhodchi A, Lam M. A review of the benefits 3D printing brings to patients with neurological diseases. Pharmaceutics. 2023 Mar;15(3):892.
- Lubangakene ID, Virdee B, Jayanthi RK, Ganguly P. Effect of metabolite and temperature on artificial human sweat characteristics over a very wide frequency range (400 MHz–10.4 GHz) for wireless hydration diagnostic sensors. Results in Engineering. 2023 Sep 1;19:101328.
- Deng F, Peng J, Li X, Luo X, Ganguly P, Pillai SC, Ren B, Ding L, Dionysiou DD. Metal sulfide-based Z-scheme heterojunctions in photocatalytic removal of contaminants, H2 evolution and CO2 reduction: Current status and future perspectives. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2023 Jun 30:137957.
- Mahandru‐Gill M, Iqbal A, Damai M, Spiedo F, Kasonde EK, Sykes D, Devine KG, Patel B. Room temperature DBN initiated phospha‐Brook rearrangement of α‐hydroxyphosphonates to phosphates. European Journal of Organic Chemistry. 2022 Nov 18;2022(43):e202201101.
- Nashed N, Chan S, Lam M, Ghafourian T, Nokhodchi A. Effect of pH, ionic strength and agitation rate on dissolution behaviour of 3D-printed tablets, tablets prepared from ground hot-melt extruded filaments and physical mixtures. Biomedicines. 2023 Jan 27;11(2):375.
- Gerges A, Canning U. Neuroblastoma and its target therapies: a medicinal chemistry review. ChemMedChem. 2024 May 2;19(9):e202300535.