Assessing the quality of tools used in disease control (prevention and treatment). Tools of prevention include insecticides on fabrics, sprayed on walls. Treatment include medicines, eye drops and, potentially, vaccines.
Harparkash Kaur set up the bioanalytical facility as part of the Gates Malaria Partnership in 2001, and from 2008 was lead investigator on the drug quality project for the ACT Consortium.
Assessing the quality of tools used in disease control (prevention and treatment)
Prevention: Tools of prevention include insecticides on fabrics, sprayed on walls. We use high performance liquid chromatography –photo diode array (HPLC-PDA) detection methods to quantitatively measure the amounts of insecticides i.e. type 2-pyrethroids (detlamathrin, alpha-cypermethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin), permethrin, chlorfenapyr, DDT etc.
We have also developed a semi-quantitative test kit for use on the ground to measure type 2-pyrethroids, in the absence of analytical laboratories with HPLC-PDA technologies.
Treatment: Methodology quantitatively measuring all antimalarials (past and present) and their metabolites, as well as antibiotics, antiretroviral and antihypertensive medicines. We routinely analyse using HPLC-PDA to authenticate an antifibrinolytic, tranexamic acid, a medication used to treat or prevent excessive blood loss deployed in the CRASH and HALT-IT trials.
We have also developed a semi-quantitative test kit for use on the ground to measure the artemisinin derivative component of the first line antimalarial medicines.
The facility builds on the work of the ACT Consortium from 2008-2016 http://www.actconsortium.org/projects/9/analysing-the-quality-and-authenticity-of-act-drugs.html
Physicochemical assessment of drugs is highly informative and in vitro dissolution testing is carried out in our laboratory following the pharmacopeia-authorised monograph prior to the start of the clinical trials. This offers information of the in vivo bioavailability and bioequivalence of oral solid dosage forms.
Harparkash Kaur set up the bioanalytical facility as part of the Gates Malaria Partnership in 2001, and from 2008 was lead investigator on the drug quality project for the ACT Consortium.
To support us, please contact us:
Address: Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT
Phone: 0207 299 4629
Email: Harparkash.kaur@lshtm.ac.uk