Eneko Larraneta graduated with a BSc in Chemistry from University of Navarra (Spain) in 2007. The same year he returned to the School of Sciences at University of Navarra to undertake a PhD in Supramolecular Chemistry. He graduated in 2012 with the thesis entitled: “Self-assembled Gels of Poloxamines and Poloxamers with Cyclodextrins”. After finishing his PhD, he worked as a research fellow in nanotechnology for drug delivery in Prof. Irache's laboratory (Universidad de Navarra - Spain) for 1 year and a half. Subsequentlly in 2013 he moved to Belfast and started a research fellowship in microneedle technology for transdermal drug delivery with Prof. Donnelly in the School of Pharmacy of Queen's University Belfast. He was apointed as a Lecturer in Septembre 2016. 

Dr. Larrañeta is member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Society for Applied Microbiology. He has published more than 80 papers in indexed journals, edited 2 books and published 8 book chapters. Moreover, he has delivered multiple invited talks at conferences and international universities. During his independent career he has attracted funding from funding bodies such as: EPSRC, Wellcome Trust, Academy of Medical Sciences, Prostate Cancer UK, Society for Applied Microbiology and Royal Society. Additionally, he has worked in collaborative projects with leading pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies. Due to this work, Dr. Larrañeta is the author of a patent developed in collaboration with one of these companies.

Individuals interested in working with Dr Larraneta are welcome to contact him to discuss their ideas and/or possible collaborations.

Dr Larrañeta research interests are centred on design and physicochemical characterisation of advanced implantabe drug delivery systems. These devices can be used for a wide variety of applications such as to replace a fraction of a biological structure or to provide a specific therapy. 

It is estimated that between 5 and 6% of people in industrialized countries have experienced the implantation of a medical device for rebuilding some body functions. These devices can be manufactured containing drugs in their structures with diverse funcions such as prevent infection/inflamation or to provide a prolonged drug release. The latter application is particularly interesting, as long-acting and implantable drug delivery systems offer the possibility of providing localised and unattended therapy for a wide variety of conditions. These systems present multiple advantages over the conventional systems used for drug delivery and allow to reduce drug dosage while improving patient compliance. These features are particularly important for the treatment of chronic conditions. According to the World Health Organization, chronic conditions are the major cause of disabilities worldwide, and the burden of chronic diseases is increasing rapidly. 

Dr Larrañeta is currently working on the development of diverse types of drug eluting implantable devices. These devices are commonly made of polymeric materials. The properties of these materials can be tailored by altering the composition of these devices. In this way, drug release profiles can be tailored to the specific applications adapting to patient's needs. Finally, stateof-the-art techniques such as 3D printing can be applied for the development of implantable devices.

PMY2106/2024: Medicinal Substances

This module is delivered to the MPharm and BSc Pharmaceutical Sciences/Biotechnology students. The module covers the folllowing topics:

1. Instrumentation, common analytical techniques and procedures used in pharmaceutical analysis of medicinal substances.

2. Sources of drug substances and an appreciation of the methods used in their isolation, purification and identification, the relationship between structure and function, the cellular responses to drug substances.

Dr. Larrañeta delivers the content related with Atomic Absorption/Emission Spectroscopy, Fluorescence spectroscopy, Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic resonance analysis during the first semester. Additionally, he covers Enzyme Kinetics, Drug Metabolism and Case studies about beta blockers.

PMY3082/3182: Drug Design and Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis

This module is delivered to the MPharm and BSc Pharmaceutical Sciences/Biotechnology students. The module covers the folllowing topics:

1. Application of analytical techniques and related methodologies for the determination of drugs in various matrices

2. Classical and modern approaches to drug design/development and the prediction of drug properties based on a knowledge of structure-activity relationships 

Dr. Larrañeta delivers the content related with Pharmaceutical Analysis of Formulated Products.

Module Coordinator:

PMY2106/2024: Medicinal Substances

PMY3082/3182: Drug Design and Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis