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Pharmaceutical Research Group

Scheme of PEGylated liposomes for drug delivery

Our Pharmaceutical Research Group (PRG) carries out cutting-edge research in Nanomedicine, Pharmaceutical Technology, Drug Controlled Release and Drug Development.

In addition to pharmaceutical technology research, our research focuses on:

  • developing innovative drug delivery approaches to reverse Multidrug Resistance (MDR)
  • scaling up technology of nanomedicine
  • pharmacological activities of metal-organic complexes
  • manufacturing and scaling up nutraceutical dosage forms
  • dendrimers and macromolecule prodrugs
  • nanomedicine for eye disease and developing anti-cataract medications
  • pharmaceutical applications of 3D printing
  • using Three-Dimensional Stereophotogrammetry (TDS) for assessing skin conditions.

Academic staff

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PhD students

  • Ayse Kaya
  • Niusha Ansari-Fard
  • Dan Alves
  • Tony Tiller
Read more about phd students.

Please fill in the Accessible name field or the Question Field

Please fill in the Accessible name field or the Question Field

Please fill in the Accessible name field or the Question Field

2022

Kannappan, K., Liu, Y., Wang, Z., Azar, K., Kurusamy, S., Kilari, R., Mark, M., Najlah, M., Liu, P., Bain, W., Wang, W., 2022. PLGA-nano-encapsulated Disulfiram inhibits hypoxia-induced NFκB, cancer stem cells and targets glioblastoma in vitro and in vivo. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0066

Wang, K., Hoshino, M., Uesugi, K., Yagi, N., Pierscionek, B. K., Andley, U. P., 2022. Oxysterol compounds in mouse mutant αA- and αB-crystallin lenses can improve the optical properties of the lens. Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science, 63, 15. doi: 10.1167/iovs.63.5.15

2021

Machado, B., Ime. S., Pautrat, W., Frame, J., Najlah, M., 2021. Scientific Validation of Three-Dimensional Stereophotogrammetry Compared to the IGAIS Clinical Scale for Assessing Wrinkles and Scars after Laser Treatment. Scientific Reports, 11, 12385. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91922-9

Dahabra, L., Broadberry, G., Le Gresley, A., Najlah, M., Khoder, M., 2021. Sunscreens containing cyclodextrin inclusion complexes for enhanced efficiency: A strategy for skin cancer prevention. Molecules, 26(6), 1698.

Najlah, M., 2021. Drug Repurposing Supported by Nanotechnology: A Promising Strategy to Fight Cancer. Therapeutic Delivery. doi: 10.4155/tde-2021-0009

Machado, B., Frame, J., Zhang, J., Najlah, M., 2021. Treatment of Scars with Laser-Assisted Delivery of Growth Factors and Vitamin C: A Comparative, Randomised, Double-blind, Clinical Trial. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. doi: 10.1007/s00266-021-02232-4

Said Suliman, A., Khoder, M., Tolaymat, I., Webster, M., Alany, G. R., Wang, W., Elhissi, M. A., Najlah, M., 2021. Cyclodextrin Diethyldithiocarbamate Copper II Inclusion Complexes: A Promising Chemotherapeutic Delivery System Against Chemoresistant Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cell Lines. Pharmaceutics, 13(1), 84. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13010084

Enuwosa, E., Gautam, L., King, L., Chichger, H., 2021. Saccharin and sucralose protect the glomerular microvasculature in vitro against VEGF-induced permeability. Nutrients, 13(8), 2746.

Shil, A., Chichger, H., 2021. Artificial Sweeteners Negatively Regulate Pathogenic Characteristics of Two Model Gut Bacteria, E. coli and E. faecalis. Int J Mol Sci., 22(10), 5228.

Asowata, E. O., Olusanya, O., Abaakil, K., Chichger, H., Srai, S. K. S., Unwin, R. J., Marks, J., 2021. Diet-induced iron deficiency in rats impacts small intestinal calcium and phosphate absorption. Acta Physiol, 232(2), e13650.

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2020

Abdallah, B., Elhissi, A., Ahmed, W., Najlah, M., 2020. Carbon Nanotubes Drug Delivery System for Cancer Treatment. In: Ahmed, W. et al, (Eds.), 2020. Advances in Medical and Surgical Engineering (Amsterdam: Elsevier), pp. 313-332. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-819712-7.00016-4

Elhissi, A., Mahmood, R., Ahmed, W., Najlah, M., 2020. Taxane Anticancer Formulations: Challenges and Achievements.In: Ahmed, W. et al, (Eds.), 2020. Advances in Medical and Surgical Engineering (Amsterdam: Elsevier), pp. 347-358. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-819712-7.00016-4

Machado, B., Frame, J., Zhang, J., Najlah, M., 2020. Comparative Study on the Outcome of Periorbital Wrinkles Treated with Laser-Assisted Delivery of Vitamin C or Vitamin C Plus Growth Factors: A Randomized, Double-blind, Clinical Trial. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. doi: 10.1007/s00266-020-02035-z

Khan, I., Yousaf, S., Najlah, M., Ahmed, W., Elhissi, A., 2020. Proliposome powder or tablets for generating inhalable liposomes using a medical nebulizer. Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation, 51, pp. 61-73. doi: 10.1007/s40005-020-00495-8

Khudair, N,. Agouni, A., Elrayess, M., Najlah, M., Younes, H., Elhissi, A., 2020. Letrozole-loaded nonionic surfactant vesicles prepared via a slurry-based proniosome technology: Formulation development and characterization. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology. doi: 10.1016/j.jddst.2020.101721

Said Suliman, A., Tom R., Palmer, K., Tolaymat, I., Younes, H., Arafat, B., Elhissi, A., Najlah, M., 2020. Physicochemical Characterisation and Stability Evaluation of Ciprofloxacin-Loaded Parenteral Nutrition Nanoemulsions. Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 25(5), pp. 579-587. doi: 10.1080/10837450.2020.1720237

Schutte, R., Papageorgiou, M., Najlah, M., Huisman, H. W., Ricci, C., Zhang, J., Milner, N., Schutte, A. E., 2020. Drink types unmask the health risks associated with alcohol intake – prospective evidence from the general population. Clinical Nutrition, 39(10), pp. 3168-3174.

Hanafy, B. I., Cave, G. W. V., Barnett, Y., Pierscionek, B. K., 2020. Nanoceria prevents glucose- induced protein glycation in eye lens cells. Nanomaterials, 11(6), 1473. doi: 10.3390/nano11061473

Abdelkader, H., Pierscionek, B., Wertheim, D., Alany, R. G., 2020. Curcumin in situ gelling polymeric insert with enhanced ocular performance. Pharmaceutics, 12(12), 1158. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12121158

Gaballa, S. A, Kompella, U .B., Elgarhy, O., Alqahtani, A. M., Pierscionek, B., Alany, R. G., Abdelkader, H., 2020. Corticosteroids in ophthalmology: drug delivery innovations, pharmacology, clinical applications and future perspectives. Drug Delivery and Translational Research. doi: 10.1007/s13346-020-00843-z

Hanafy, B. I., Cave, G. W. V., Barnett, Y., Pierscionek, B., 2020. Treatment of human lens epithelium with high levels of nanoceria leads to Reactive Oxygen Species mediated apoptosis. Molecules, 25, 441. doi: 10.3390/molecules25030441

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2019

Najlah, M., Said Suliman, A., Tolaymat, I., Kurusamy, S., Kannappan, V., Elhissi, M. A., Wang, W., 2019. Development of Injectable PEGylated Liposome Encapsulating Disulfiram for Colorectal Cancer Treatment. Pharmaceutics, 11(11), pp. 610-626. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics11110610

Hanafy, B. I., Cave, G. W. V., Barnett, Y., Pierscionek, B., 2019. Ethylene glycol coated nanoceria protects against oxidative stress in human lens epithelium. RSC Advances, 9, pp. 16596-16605.

Rycerz, K., Stepien, K. A., Czapiewska, M., Arafat, B. T., 2019. Embedded 3D Printing of Novel Bespoke Soft Dosage Form Concept for Pediatrics. Pharmaceutics, 11(12), pp. 630. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics11120630

Said, R., Arafat, B. T., Mallah, E., 2019. An LC-MS/MS method for determination of triple drugs combination of valsartan, amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide in human plasma for bioequivalence study. Current Pharmaceutical Analysis. doi: 10.2174/1573412916666191111125807

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2018

Omar, H., Hussein, N., Ferraz, A., Najlah, M., Ahmed, W., Taylor, M. T., Elhissi, A., 2018. Spray-dried proliposome microparticles for high-performance aerosol delivery using a monodose powder inhaler. AAPS PharmSciTech. doi: 10.1208/s12249-018-1058-4

Abdelkader, H., Fathalla, Z., Moharram, H., Ali, T. F. S., Pierscionek, B. K., 2018. Cyclodextrin enhances corneal tolerability and reduces ocular toxicity caused by diclofenac. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. doi: 10.1155/2018/5260976

Sherer, C., Prabhu, S., Adams, D., Hayes, J., Rowther, F., Tolaymat, I., Warr, T., Snape, T. J., 2018. Towards identifying potent new hits for glioblastoma. MedChemComm, 9(11), pp. 1850-1861. doi: 10.1039/C8MD00436F

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2017

Najlah, M., Freeman, S., Khoder, M., Attwood, D., D’Emanuele, A., 2017. In vitro evaluation of the third generation PAMAM dendrimer conjugates. Molecules, 22(10), p. 1661. doi: 10.3390/molecules22101661

Najlah, M., Ahmed, Z., Iqbal, M., Wang, Z., Tawari, P., Wang, W., McConville, C., 2017. Development and characterisation of disulfiram-loaded PLGA nanoparticles for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 112, pp. 224-233. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2016.11.032

Laibe, J., Broutin M., Caffrey, A., Pierscionek, B., Nebel, J-C., 2017. Data Mining the Protein Data Bank to Identify and Characterise Chameleon Coil Sequences that Form Symmetric Homodimer β-Sheet Interfaces. In: Rojas, I., Ortuño, F., 2017. Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (New York: Springer), pp. 118-126. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-56154-7_12

Trease, C. H., Longman, M. R., Augousti, A. T., Foot, P. J. S., Pierscionek, B. K., 2017. Cell morphology and growth observation studies on novel, chemically unmodified and patterned polymer surfaces for advanced tissue culture applications. Polymer, 109, pp. 13-24.

Abdelkader, H., Longman, M., Alany, R. G., Pierscionek, B. K., 2017. On the anti-cataractogenic effects of L-carnosine: Is it best described as an antioxidant, metal chelating agent or glycation inhibitor? Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. doi: 10.1155/2016/3240261

Sherer, C., Tolaymat, I., Rowther, F., Warr, T., Snape, T. J., 2017. Preliminary SAR on indole-3-carbinol and related fragments reveals a novel anticancer lead compound against resistant glioblastoma cells. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters, 27(7), pp. 1561-1565. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2017.02.033

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2016

Najlah, M., Jain, M., Wan, K. W., Ahmed, W., Phoenix A. D., Taylor, K. M. G., Elhissi, A., 2016. Ethanol-based proliposome delivery systems of paclitaxel for in vitro application against brain cancer cells. Journal of Liposome Research, 14, pp. 1-12. doi: 10.1080/08982104.2016.1259628

Najlah, M., Kadam A., Wan, K. W., Ahmed, W., Taylor K. M. G., Elhissi, A., 2016. Novel paclitaxel formulations solubilized by lipid nanoemulsions for brain tumour therapy. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 506(1-2), pp. 102-109. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2016.04.027

Abdelkader, H., Longman, M., Alany, R. G., Pierscionek, B., 2016, Phytosome-hyaluronic acid systems for ocular delivery of L-carnosine. International J. Nanomedicine, 11, pp. 2815-27.

Alhnan, M. A., Okwuosa, T. C., Sadia, M., Wan, K. W., Ahmed, W., Arafat, B., 2016. Emergence of 3D Printed Dosage Forms: Opportunities and Challenges. Pharm Res., 33(8), pp. 1817-32.

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2015

Tawari, P., Wang, Z., Najlah, M., Tsang, C., Kannappan, V., Liu, P., Mcconville, C., Armesilla, A., Wang, W., 2015. The cytotoxic mechanisms of Disulfiram and copper(II) in cancer cells. Toxicology Research, 4, pp. 1439-1442. doi: 10.1039/C5TX00210A

Najlah, M., Hidayat, K., Mwesigwa, E., Ahmed, W., Al-Obaidi, K., Elhissi, A., 2015. A facile approach to manufacturing non-ionic surfactant nanodipsersions using proniosome technology and high-pressure homogenization. Journal of Liposome Research, 25(1), pp. 32-37. doi: 10.3109/08982104.2014.924140

Abdelkader, H., Swinden, J., Pierscionek, B. K., Alany, R. G., 2015. Analytical and physicochemical characterisation of the senile cataract drug dipeptide  alanyl-L-histidine (carnosine). Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 114, pp. 241-246.

Al-Kinani A., Naughton, D. P., Calabrese, G, Vangala, A., Smith, J. R., Pierscionek, B. K., Alany, R. G., 2015. Analysis of 2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography: application for ocular delivery using chitosan nanoparticles. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 407, pp. 2645-2650.

Alany, R. G., Abdelkader, H., Pierscionek, B., Carew, M., 2015. Critical appraisal of alternative irritation models: three decades of testing ophthalmic pharmaceuticals (Review). British Medical Bulletin, 113, pp. 59-71.

Bahrami, M., Hoshino, M., Pierscionek, B. K., Yagi, N., Regini, J., Uesugi, K., 2015. Refractive index degeneration in older lenses: a potential functional correlate to structural changes that underlie cataract formation. Experimental Eye Research, 140, pp. 19-27.

Abdelkader, H., Alany, R. G., Pierscionek, B., 2015. Age-related cataract and drug therapy: opportunities and challenges for topical antioxidant delivery to the lens. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 67, pp. 537-550.

Rai, U. S. J. P., Young, S. A., Thrimawithana, T. R., Abdelkader, H., Alani, A. W. G., Pierscionek, B., Alany, R. G., 2015. Drug Discovery Today, 20(4), pp. 491-495.

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2014

Najlah, M., Parveen, I., Faheem, A., Ahmed, W., Phoenix A. D., Taylor, K. M. G., Elhissi, A., 2014. The effects of suspensions particle size on the performance of vibrating-mesh, air-jet and ultrasonic nebulizers. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 461(1), pp. 234-241. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2013.11.022

Abdelkader, H., Pierscionek, B., Alany, R. G., 2014. Novel in situ gelling ocular films for the opioid growth factor-receptor antagonist-naltrexone hydrochloride: fabrication, mechanical properties, mucoadhesion, tolerability and stability studies. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 477, pp. 631-642.

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ARU offers the following courses in this area:

Contact us

For more information, contact Professor Mohammad Najlah at [email protected] or +44 (0)1245 684682.