Eneko Larrañeta is a Professor at Queen's University Belfast, specialising in drug delivery systems and biomaterials. He holds a BSc in Chemistry and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Navarra, where his research focused on self-assembled hydrogels. After completing his PhD in 2012, Prof. Larrañeta worked as a research fellow in nanotechnology for drug delivery before moving to Belfast in 2013 to develop microneedle technology for transdermal drug delivery at Queen's University.

Prof. Larrañeta's expertise includes hydrogels, nano/microparticles, and microneedle-based systems. Currently, he focuses on implantable systems for sustained drug release, using techniques such as melt processing and additive manufacturing. He has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, edited multiple books, and authored numerous book chapters. Prof. Larrañeta has secured funding from leading organisations and collaborated extensively with pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies.

In 2023, he was named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, and since 2019, he has been recognised as a top 2% scientist in his field by Stanford University's analysis using Scopus data. He is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society for Applied Microbiology.

Prof. 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. 

Prof. 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.

PMY2203: Medicinal Substances

Prof. Larrañeta delivers the content related with Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis, Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic resonance analysis during the first semester. Additionally, he covers Enzyme Kinetics, Pro-drugs and Beta-blockers during second semestre.

PMY2304: Pharmaceutical Analysis

Prof. Larrañeta delivers the content related with Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis, Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic resonance analysis during the first semester. 

PMY1024: Properties and analysis of drug molecules

Prof. Larrañeta delivers the content related with UV-visible, fluorescence, IR and Raman spectroscopies