Center for Advanced Drug Analysis

Bachelor/master courses we provide:

Quality Assessment of Pharmaceutical Substances (SFAB20025U)
Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry (SMPS20006U)
Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry (SFAB20035U)
Principles and Practice of Bioanalysis (SFAK20014U)
Biopharmaceuticals: Protein Production and Analysis (SFAB21005U)
Biopharmaceuticals: Protein Production and Analysis (SFAK20005U)

If you wish to enrol in one of these courses, you can find it in the course catalogue for the University of Copenhagen.

PhD courses

You can find relevant PhD courses at Drug Research Academy - PhD courses

Miniaturised electro-membrane extraction of drug molecules from very small sample volumes

In many experimental scenarios only very little sample volumes are accessible, e.g., when sampling blood/plasma from test animals to investigate and better understand effects and transport of pharmaceutical substances in vivo.

There is a clear need to develop techniques that allow chemical analysis from very small sample volumes, and one promising approach is electromembrane extraction, which allows the extraction of (basic) drugs from various matrices (water, urine, cell medium, plasma, ...).

This can give both a purification of the analyte of interest as well as an upconcentration for further analysis (by, e.g., LC-MS). We provide projects that further develop this technology and use it in the context of pharmaceutically relevant research questions.

No. of students: 1-2

Novel fibre-based liquid chromatography for pharmaceutical analysis

Liquid chromatography (LC) is one of the main workhorses in pharmaceutical analysis and used extensively in industry. The main applied format is reversed-phase liquid chromatography using particle-based apolar stationary phases. One of the main drawbacks is often the large counter pressure generated by columns packed with very small particles.

A different approach could be to use fibres instead of particles and thus achieve similar performance at lower pressures, and potentially faster separation times. This project is highly innovative in exploring the best ways to prepare fibre-based LC columns with different chemical properties and test them under various conditions for the separation of drug molecules and metabolites.

No. of students: 1-2

Immobilised enzyme reactors for fast sample preparations (proteolysis, deglycosylation, capture/enrichment, degradation, …)

Many biochemical processes rely on enzymes (protein digestion, DNA cleavage, removing sugars from proteins, or strong selective capture of important molecules). However, many enzymes are rare and expensive. In order to more efficiently use enzymes, they can be immobilised on appropriate supports, such that they can be re-used again and again for new samples.

This can be done even more efficiently in a miniaturised format, further reducing the amount of enzyme needed and also greatly increasing enzyme turnover by improved molecular transport. We provide projects looking at immobilising a variety of enzymes on a microfluidic support structure and testing their function by LC-UV, LC-MS or CE-UV.

No. of students: 1-2

HILIC-based sample preparation and separation strategies for more hydrophilic drug substances

Solid phase extraction (SPE) is a common method to extract and enrich compounds of interest from a sample. This is often used as a first step in an analysis for determining time-dependent occurrence of drug substances and metabolites in blood/serum/urine samples.

Traditionally, reversed phase chromatographic material is used for SPE, but sometimes this material is insufficient; especially when the task is to capture more hydrophilic molecules. In this project, we are trying to evaluate the use of different types of stationary phases exploiting what is known as hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). We will test this for sample extraction (SPE) as well as for sample separation (LC).

No. of students: 1-2 

Design of in vitro drug release models for predicting in vivo performance of depot injectables

Development of in vitro release models for quality control as well as formulation design purposes is a critical activity in the characterization of parenteral depot formulations. Ideally, an in vitro-in vivo correlation should be established, however, it requires that the drug release mechanism is the same in vitro and in vivo.

The project focuses on characterizing drug release from sustained release formulations for subcutaneous and/or intra-muscular administration. The aim of the project is to develop in vitro release models to achieve in depth understanding of how formulation designs as well as physiological parameters influence drug release mechanism and rate and drug transport the blood capillaries.

No. of students: 1-2

Efficient characterization of peptide and protein-based drugs/new drug modalities

In this project, microscale analytical methodologies (CE, TDA, FIDA) will be developed for biophysical characterization/stability assessment of peptide and protein-based drugs. While these biologics have proven efficient for the treatment of a range of serious diseases, challenges remain with respect to developing and formulating these compounds.

Notably, they are known to be structurally labile and current methods for assessing stability are suboptimal. We take advantage of the fact that structural alterations can be efficiently monitored through size and charge changes, change in optical properties, and/or altered function (binding ability) using microscale fluidic systems. Potential applications: stress testing of mAbs, acylated peptide self-association and ligand binding, detection and self-assembly of endotoxins in injectable, drug-protein binding kinetics.

No. of students: 1-2 

Characterization of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems

This project focuses on the development of new methods to characterize nanoparticulate drug delivery systems, e.g., liposomes, cubosomes, nanocrystals. New methods based on capillary electrophoresis, Taylor dispersion analysis and/or microfluidics will be developed.

It is important that the methods require limited amount of sample as nanoparticulate drug delivery systems are usually only produced in small quantities. These methods will allow us to address critical parameters such as incorporation efficiency, release, non-covalent interactions, aggregation, and adsorption.

No. of students: 1-2

Development of forensic methods for the analysis of drugs of abuse

The Section of Forensic Chemistry in Copenhagen has the latest technology in analytical chemistry and is committed to continuously developing and validating new and improved screen and quantitative methods for the analysis of pharmaceuticals, drugs of abuse, and designer drugs in whole blood etc. from traffic, violence, drugging or autopsy cases.

The section has a strong interest in investigations into alternative matrices, such as hair and brain tissue. Some methods are accredited and the field remains of high interest as these alternative matrices offer new advantages; for example, hair analysis allows one to look back in time, because consumed drugs enter the bloodstream and are thereby stored in the developed hair.

The drug will then grow out within the hair, and by segmenting hair into smaller pieces, it is possible to achieve a chemical history of drug use and pattern. These investigations are often developed by use of the sensitive and selective LC/MS/MS technique, thus GC/MS and ICP-MS are available.

No. of students: 1-2

Thesis projects on pharmaceutical analysis with pharma industry, hospital pharmacy, and/or academic-public institutions

Ask for current possibilities.

Application procedure and dates

If you are interested in writing your thesis with the Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Group, please write an email to jesper.ostergaard@sund.ku.dk, jorg.kutter@sund.ku.dk, nickolaj.petersen@sund.ku.dk, or susan.larsen@sund.ku.dk with more information about you. There is no deadline.

Endocrine disrupting pharmaceuticals – how pharmaceuticals affect endocrinology

Pharmaceuticals are the xenobiotics that modern humans are by far most widely exposed to. However, several pharmaceuticals are known to exert side-effects on the endocrine system, with a potential to affect growth and reproduction.

In the DTMA group, we study the mechanisms by which pharmaceuticals affect the endocrine system. Our focus is on the steroidogenesis, the main pathway synthesizing steroid hormones including sex steroids. This pathway is well known to be targeted by many pharmaceuticals.

We use in vitro, ex vivo as well as in vivo and analytical chemical techniques to obtain a better understanding of the fundamental endocrine system, and how this system is affected by pharmaceuticals during therapy. We mainly focus on effects and diseases associated with the reproductive cycle of women, including infertility, migraine, Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension and Sjögren´s syndrome. The aim is to provide better treatment for these diseases with fewer side effects. Thus, clinical collaboration is a key element in our research. 

Danida projects: Antimicrobial resistance in low to middle-income countries – impact on human livelihood

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest threats to public health. The WHO regards AMR as a global health and developmental threat resulting in the loss of millions of lives and AMR is expected to increase significantly in the future. Unintentional exposure to antibiotics through food is the most critical route for human acquisition of AMR, but AMR also spreads between patients in clinical settings.

We investigate how antibiotic use promotes development of resistance in the general public and in patients with infections. Using LC-MS/MS methodology, we investigate unintentional exposure to antibiotics drugs through food and drinks. We also analyse the antibiotic content of food, drinks and herbal medicines along with analysis of antibiotic content in orthodox medicines. The aim is to understand how humans are unintentionally exposed to antibiotics, and how this promotes bacterial resistance.

AMR disproportionally affects people in developing countries, and all our work is therefore conducted in Africa. Currently, we have a project on AMR in Kenya, but we are also active in other African countries such as Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa.

Application procedure and dates

If you are interested in writing your thesis with the Protein Analysis Group, please write an email to kasper.rand@sund.ku.dk with more information about you. There is no deadline.