Deirdre D'Arcy
Assistant Professor, Pharmacy
Biography
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
William H. Marks, Lydia N. Drumright, Nigel K.H. Slater and Deirdre M. D'Arcy , Using CFD Simulations of USP4 Flow Through Cell to Visualize Fluid Movement through a Novel Drug Delivery System, FIP PSWC 2017 6th pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress, Stockholm Sweden, May 22nd-24th, 2017
Anne Marie Liddy, Gavin McLaughlin, Susanne Schmitz, Deirdre D'Arcy, Michael Barry, The Pharmacokinetic Interaction between Ivacaftor and Ritonavir in Healthy Volunteers, British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 83, (10), 2017, p2235 - 2241
Byrne CJ, Roberts JA, McWhinney B, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Egan S, Desmond R, Enright H, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, Variability in trough total and unbound teicoplanin concentrations and achievement of therapeutic drug monitoring targets in adult patients with haematological malignancy, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 61, (6), 2017, pe02466-16
Todaro, V, Persoons, T, Groves, G, Healy, AM, D'Arcy, DM, Characterisation and simulation of hydrodynamics in the paddle, basket and flow-through dissolution testing apparatuses - a review, Dissolution Technologies, 24, (3), 2017, p24 - 36
William H. Marks, Lydia Drumright, Nigel K. H. Slater and Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Novel Imaging Platform for Predicting Efficacy of Nipple Shield Delivery System Designs via High-Speed Photography, 14th IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging, Melbourne, Australia, April 2017, 2017
Munshi R, O'Keeffe H, Coyle M, Deasy E, Fitzpatrick GJ, Lavin PJ, Donnelly M, D'Arcy DM, Exploring population pharmacokinetic models in patients treated with vancomycin during continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) on different anticoagulant modalities. , European Society of Intensive Care Medicine 30th Annual Congress, Vienna, Austria, 23rd- 27th September, 2017
William H. Marks, Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Nigel K.H. Slater, Lydia N. Drumright, Novel Drug Release Test Using USP4 Flow Through Cell for Nipple Shield Delivery System, 8th APS International PharmSci Conference 2017, University of Hertfordshire, UK, 5th-7th September, 2017
William H. Marks; Deirdre M. D'Arcy; Nigel K. H. Slater; Lydia N. Drumright, Analysing Novel Nipple Shield Drug Delivery System with CFD Simulations, 9th European Paediatric Formulation Initiative International Conference, Warsaw, Poland, 20th-21st September, 2017
David McDonnell,D. M. D'Arcy, L.J. Crane, Brendan Redmond, A Mathematical Analysis of Drug Dissolution in the USP Flow Through Apparatus, Heat and Mass Transfer, 2017
Deirdre M D'Arcy, Rose Duignan, Martin C Henman, Suzanne McCarthy, Exploring the potential for a community pharmacy based breastfeeding support service - scope for bidirectional education?, All Irreland Pharmacy Conference, Dundalk, Ireland, 17th October, 2017
Byrne CJ, Roberts JA, McWhinney B, Ryder SA, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Egan S, Desmond R, Enright H, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, Population pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin and attainment of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets in adult patients with haematological malignancy, Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 23, (9), 2017, p674.e7-674.e13
Serrano DR, Persoons T, D'Arcy DM, Galiana C, Dea-Ayuela MA, Healy AM, Modelling and shadowgraph imaging of cocrystal dissolution and assessment of in vitro antimicrobial activity for sulfadimidine/4-aminosalicylic acid cocrystals, European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, 89, 2016, p125-36
Ricardo Díaz de León-Ortega, Deirdre M D'Arcy, Nikoletta Fotaki, Effect of biorelevant albumin concentration in simulated plasma on the solubility and stability of Amphotericin B, 10th World Meeting on Pharmaceutics Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology , Glasgow, April 4-7 , 2016
Judge, C; Drew, T; Misran, H; Figuet, C; McGovern, L; Coyne, M; Dunne, L; Deasy, E; Lavin, P; Fahy, A; D'Arcy, DM; Donnelly, M, Experience of data extraction from multiple sources for a CVVHDF and pharmacokinetic retrospective analysis, 48th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Irish Nephrology Society, Dublin, Ireland, 11th March, 2016
Byrne CJ, Roberts JA, McWhinney B, Ryder SA, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Egan S, Enright H, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, The impact of serum albumin concentrations on the pharmacokinetics of unbound teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy, 26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infections Diseases (ECCMID), Amsterdam, Netherlands, 9-12 April 2016, 2016
Judge, C; Drew, T; Misran, H; Munshi, R; McGovern, L; Coyle, M; Dunne, L; Deasy, E; Lavin, P; Fahy, A; D'Arcy, DM; Donnelly, M, Development of an automated data extraction process for use in retrospective pharmacokinetic analyses: initial application to vancomycin dose and concentration data in patients using citrate and heparin CVVHDF anticoagulation modalities, Intensive Care Medicine Experimental, European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, Milan, Italy, 1st-5th October 2016, 4(Suppl 1), (30), 2016, ppA632-
Byrne CJ, Roberts JA, McWhinney B, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Egan S, Enright H, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, Population pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin in haematological malignancy patients, Joint 55th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and 28th International Congress of Chemotherapy Meeting (ICAAC/ICC), San Diego, California, USA, 17-21 September 2015, 2015
Byrne CJ, Roberts JA, McWhinney B, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Egan S, Enright H, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, Evaluation of teicoplanin loading dose regimens in patients with haematological malignancy: a population pharmacokinetic study, Haematology Association of Ireland Annual Meeting, Galway, Ireland, 16-17 October 2015, 2015
Byrne CJ, Egan S, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Enright H, Deasy E, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, Teicoplanin use in adult patients with haematological malignancy: Exploring relationships between dose, trough concentrations, efficacy and nephrotoxicity, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 46, (4), 2015, p406 - 412
Deirdre M D'Arcy, Owen I Corrigan, Evelyn Deasy, Caitríona M Gowing, Maria B Donnelly, Gentamicin pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients during treatment with continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF), European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 71, (3), 2015, p377 - 378
D. R. Serrano, T. Persoons, D. M. D'Arcy, C. Galiana, M. A. Dea-Ayuela, A. M. Healy, Shadowgraph Imaging of Cocrystal Dissolution and In Vitro Activity Determination , AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition, Orlando, Florida, USA, Oct 25-29, 2015, ppW5128-
:Correa, JCR (Ruela Correa, Josilene Chaves) ; D'Arcy, DM (D'Arcy, Deirdre M.); Serra, CHD (dos Reis Serra, Cristina Helena) ; Salgado, HRN (Nunes Salgado, Herida Regina), A Critical Review of Properties of Darunavir and Analytical Methods for Its Determination, CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, 44, (1), 2014, p16 - 22
Byrne CJ, Egan S, D'Arcy DM, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Fennell JP, Enright H, McHugh J, Ryder SA, Teicoplanin usage in adult patients with haematological malignancy in the UK and Ireland: Is there scope for improvement, Eur J Hosp Pharm, 21, (5), 2014, p301 - 305
Gervais, Brian; D'Arcy, Deirdre M., Quality risk analysis in a cGMP environment: multiple models for comprehensive failure mode identification during the computer system lifecycle, DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND INDUSTRIAL PHARMACY, 40, (1), 2014, p46 - 60
Malone, M.E., Corrigan, O.I., Kavanagh, P.V., Gowing, C., Donnelly, M., D'Arcy, D.M., Pharmacokinetics of amphotericin B lipid complex in critically ill patients undergoing continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 42, (4), 2013, p335-342
Byrne C, Egan S, D'Arcy DM, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Fennell J, Enright H, McHugh J, Ryder SA, Teicoplanin usage in adult patients with haematological malignancy in the UK and Ireland: Is there scope for improvement?, Haematology Association of Ireland Annual Meeting, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 18-19 October 2013, 2013
Santos-Martinez MJ, Inkielewicz-Stepniak I, Medina C, Rahme K, D'Arcy DM, Fox D, Holmes JD, Zhang H, Radomski MW., The use of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) for studying nanoparticle-induced platelet aggregation., International Journal of Nanomedicine, 7, 2012, p243 - 255
Malone, M.; Gowing, C.; Barry, M.; Kavanagh, P; Corrigan, O. I.; D'Arcy, D. M.; Donnelly, M., Plasma concentrations of amphotericin B in critically ill patients, on switching from the liposomal to the lipid complex formulation , International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, European Society of Clinical Pharmacy, October 2011, 34, (1), 2012, pp147-
Josilene Chaves Ruela Correa, Deirdre M D'Arcy, Cristina Helena dos Reis Serra, Herida Regina Nunes Salgado, Darunavir: A critical review of its properties, use and drug interactions, Pharmacology (International Journal of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology), 90, 2012, p102 - 109
M.E. Malone, C. Gowing, M. Barry, E. Deasy, P. Kavanagh, O.I. Corrigan, D.M. D'Arcy, M. Donnelly, CAN ROUTINE CLINICAL CHEMISTRY RESULTS BE RELATED TO THE VOLUME OF DISTRIBUTION OF AMPHOTERICIN B LIPID COMPLEX IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS?, Intensive Care Medicine, European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, 25th Annual Congress, Lisbon, Portugal, October 13-17 2012, 38, (Supplement 1), 2012, pp0548-
D'Arcy, D.M., Casey, E., Gowing, C.M., Donnelly, M.B., Corrigan, O.I., An open prospective study of amikacin pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients during treatment with continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration, BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology, 13, 2012
D'Arcy, Deirdre M.; Liu, Bo; Persoons, Tim; Corrigan, Owen I., Hydrodynamic Complexity Induced by the Pulsing Flow Field in USP Dissolution Apparatus 4 , Dissolution Technologies, 18, (4), 2011, p6 - 13
Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Bo Liu, Owen I. Corrigan, Investigating the effect of solubility and density gradients on local hydrodynamics and drug dissolution in the USP 4 dissolution apparatus, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 419, (1-2), 2011, p175-185
Spooner AM, Deegan C, D'Arcy DM, Gowing CM, Donnelly MB, Corrigan OI, An evaluation of ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients undergoing continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration., BMC Clinical Pharmacology, 11, (1), 2011, p11
Deirdre M D'Arcy, Tim Persoons, Mechanistic Modelling and Mechanistic Monitoring: Simulation and Shadowgraph Imaging of Particulate Dissolution in the Flow-Through Apparatus, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 100, (3), 2011, p1102-1115
C. F. Mahon, A. McLaughlin, J. Canavan, D. Darcy, C. Gowing, M. Donnelly, A Description Of The Methodology To Measure Concentrations Of Vancomycin In Bronchial Secretions Of Ventilated ICU Patients, Am J Respir Crit Care Med , Annual Meeting of the American Thoracic Society , New Orleans, USA, May 2010, 181, (1), 2010, ppA4564-
B. Liu, D. D'Arcy, I. Kovacevic, J. Parojcic, O. Corrigan, Investigating the role of the flow through apparatus (USP4) in In vitro in vivo correlation using a BCS class II model drug., AAPS Journal, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA, 12, ((S2)), 2010
Jelena Parojčić, Mira Zečević, Deirdre D'Arcy, Milan Antonijević, Simon Walker, Mila Bo ič and Stane Srčič, Qualified Person Learning Programme Development: An Example of the Tempus Joint Project Activity, Annual Conference of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy Annual Conference, Catania, Italy, June 24-26, 2010, 2010
D'Arcy DM, Liu B, Bradley G, Healy AM, Corrigan OI, Hydrodynamic and species transfer simulations in the USP 4 dissolution apparatus: considerations for dissolution in a low velocity pulsing flow, Pharmaceutical Research, 27, (2), 2010, p246-58
M.E. Malone, D.M. D'Arcy, O.I. Corrigan, P. Kavanagh, M. Donnelly, Determination of the timescale to reach therapeutic concentrations in tracheal aspirate, following parenteral administration of liposomal amphotericin B., AAPS Journal, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA, 12 , ((S2)), 2010
B. Liu, D.M. D'Arcy, O.I. Corrigan, Can a soluble excipient increase drug dissolution under mild hydrodynamic conditions by enhancing natural convection?, PharmSciFair, Nice, France, June 2009, 2009
David McDonnell, Brendan Redmond, Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Anne Marie Healy, Owen I. Corrigan, An Analysis of Drug Dissolution Rates in the USP 24 Type 2 Apparatus, Proc. Appl. Math. Mech., 9, 2009, p691 - 692
D'Arcy DM, Healy AM, Corrigan OI, Towards determining appropriate hydrodynamic conditions for in vitro in vivo correlations using computational fluid dynamics, European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 37, (3-4), 2009, p291 - 299
Niall M. McMahon, Lawrence J. Crane, Heather J. Ruskin, Martin Crane, Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Anne Marie Healy, Owen I. Corrigan, A numerical model of a drug particle dissolving in a dissolutoin test apparatus, Proc. Appl. Math. Mech., 9, 2009, p655 - 656
D'Arcy D.M., Liu B., O'Dwyer R., Bradley G., Corrigan, O.I., Dissolution in the flow through apparatus - use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate hydrodynamiceffects, AAPS Journal, AAPS Annual Conference, 10, (S2), 2008
D'Arcy D.M., Corrigan, O.I., Healy, A.M., Investigating the hydrodynamics involved in early in vito in vivo correlations - computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of hydrodynamics in the Levy beaker apparatus., PSWC 3rd World congress of the Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the FIP., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April, 2007
D'Arcy, D.M., Corrigan, O.I., Healy, A.M., Use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate hydrodynamics involved in in vitro in vivo correlations (IVIVC) , EUFEPS/COST B 25 conference on Bioavailability (BA) and Bioequivalence (BE): Focus on physiological factors and variability., Athens, Greece, October, 2007
Deirdre D'Arcy, Owen Corrigan, Anne Marie Healy, Evaluation of hydrodynamics in the basket dissolution apparatus using compuational fluid dynamics - Dissolution rate implications, European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 27, 2006, p259 - 267
Deirdre D'Arcy. Owen Corrigan, Anne Marie Healy, hydrodynamic simulation (Compuational fluid dynamics) of asymmetrically positioned tablets in the paddle dissolution apparatus: impact on dissolution rate and variability, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 57, 2005, p1243 - 1250
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Deirdre M D'Arcy, Simulation and Comparison of Hydrodynamics in Compendial Dissolution Apparatuses Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), USP Workshop on Computer Modeling - In vitro and In vivo Studies, USP Meetings Center, Rockville, MD USA, October 23-25, 2017, 2017, US Pharmacopeial Convention
Munshi R, O'Keeffe H, Coyle M, Deasy E, Lavin P, Donnelly M, D'Arcy DM., Exploring population pharmacokinetic models in patients treated with vancomycin during continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) on different anticoagulant modalities. , 39th All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy Conference, Cork, Ireland, April 24-25, 2017, 2017
Byrne CJ, Roberts JA, McWhinney B, Ryder SA, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Egan S, Enright H, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, Population pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin and attainment of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets in adult patients with haematological malignancy, Trinity College Dublin: Faculty of Health Sciences Research Day, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 15 September 2016, 2016
Byrne CJ, McWhinney B, Roberts JA, Fennell JP, Egan S, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Enright H, Ryder SA, McHugh J, D'Arcy DM, Pharmacokinetic analysis of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy, 37th All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy Research Seminar, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 30-31 March 2015, 2015
Byrne C, McHugh J, Egan S, Fennell JP, Enright H, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, Teicoplanin dosage in haematological malignancy: Is it time to reconsider?, 36th All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy Research Seminar, Dublin, Ireland, 14-15 April 2014, 2014
Catherine J. Byrne, Sheila A. Ryder, Jerome P. Fennell, Philomena O'Byrne, Evelyn Deasy, Sean Egan, Helen Enright, Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Johnny McHugh, Teicoplanin dosing in haematological malignancy - is it time to reconsider?, TBSI annual symposium, Dublin, May 2014, 2014
Byrne C, Egan S, D'Arcy DM, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Fennell J, Enright H, McHugh J, Ryder SA, Teicoplanin usage in adult patients with haematological malignancy in the UK and Ireland: Is there scope for improvement?, Tallaght Hospital Research Exhibition, Dublin, Ireland, 20 November 2014, 2014
Byrne C, McHugh J, Egan S, Fennell J, Enright H, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, Teicoplanin dosage in adult patients with haematological malignancy: Can we improve on current practices?, Irish Antimicrobial Pharmacists Group, Dublin, Ireland, 22 October 2014, 2014
Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, 'A prospective, single-centre, cohort study to determine the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters of teicoplanin in adult patients with haematological malignancy', Dublin, Ireland, 2014, -
Byrne C, McHugh J, Egan S, Fennell JP, Enright H, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, Teicoplanin dosing in haematological malignancy - is it time to reconsider?, Tallaght Hospital Pharmacy Department Education Meeting, Dublin, Ireland, 26 September 2013, 2013
Catherine Byrne, Sean Egan, Deirdre D'Arcy, Philomena O'Byrne, Evelyn Deasy, Jérôme Fennell, Helen Enright, Johnny McHugh, Sheila Ryder, Teicoplanin Usage in Adult Patients with Haematological Malignancy in the UK and Ireland: Is there scope for improvement? , Haematology Association of Ireland Conference 2013, Belfast, Ireland, 2013, 2013
Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Tim Persoons, 'Simulation of dissolution rate profiles of pharmaceutical systems', School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dept. of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, 2012, -
Malone M.E., Gowing C., Barry M., Deasy E., Kavanagh P.V., Corrigan O.I., D'Arcy D.M., Donnelly M. Clinical pharmacokinetics research group, Pharmacokinetics of amphotericin B lipid complex in critically ill patients on and off continuous venovenous heeamodiafiltration, All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Conference, Cork, 2012, 2012
M.E. Malone, C. Gowing, M. Barry, E. Deasy, P.V. Kavanagh, O.I. Corrigan, D.M. D'Arcy, M. Donnelly, Do plasma protein levels influence the volume of distribution of Amphotericin B Lipid Complex?, Intensive Care Society of Ireland Annual Scientific Meeting, Dublin, Ireland, June 2012, 2012
M.E. Malone, C. Gowing, M. Barry, E. Deasy, P.V. Kavanagh, O.I. Corrigan, D.M. D'Arcy, M. Donnelly, Determination of pharmacokinetic parameters of amphotericin B in critically ill patients during continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration-analytical methodology and clinical trial design, All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Conference, Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 2010, 2010
Deirdre M. D'Arcy, CFD in dissolution testing: considerations for the design and use of hydrodynamic simulations, Dissolution Testing, Prague, Czech Republic, 20-21 October 2009, 2009
Deirdre M D'Arcy, The role of hydrodynamics in dissolution testing, Dissolution Testing, Bioequivalence and Bioavailability Strategies Conference 2008, London, UK, 26-27 June, 2008, 2008
Research Expertise
Description
My research interests can be presented as 2 main themes: 1. Application of computational modelling and simulation techniques in pharmacy and pharmaceutical technology, to improve processes and practice. I have used a number of different computational modelling and simulation approaches and packages in 2 main contexts: A) Clinical Pharmacokinetics: Clinical pharmacokinetics (PK) involves modelling the time course of a medicine in the body, in order to understand the medicine's journey through the body. This then facilitates design of optimal dosing regimens (dose and interval) to achieve therapeutic goals. My clinical PK work to date has focussed on optimising antibiotic use. I am the academic PI for the Clinical Pharmacokinetics Research Group, a collaboration with Tallaght Hospital. I have worked with both the Intensive Care Unit and Haematology Departments, and the hospital Pharmacy Department. B) Pharmaceutical Drug Development: My modelling and simulation in Pharmaceutical Drug Development has focussed on dissolution modelling. Dissolution testing involves determination of the rate and extent of drug dissolution and release from any dosage form. It is an essential component of early stage drug formulation development, and also quality control (QC). Of global research interest are i) the development of dissolution testing methodologies which best reflect the in vivo environment for drug release, to support early stage formulation development, and ii) understanding sources of variability in dissolution testing to minimise risk of failure to meet specifications in QC testing of manufactured batches. I have developed significant expertise in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of fluid dynamics within different dissolution test apparatuses, assisting determination of sources of variability from a QC perspective and also in vivo relevant dissolution method development. Furthermore, I have co-developed a dissolution simulation package with Dr. Tim Persoons (Dept. of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, TCD). We have accompanied this simulation package with a novel investigational tool for visualisation of dissolution, based on the principles of shadowgraph imaging. 2. Clinically relevant drug development and delivery to special populations. The dual concepts of access to medicines and personalised medicines are highly relevant in today's global pharmaceutical environment. Based on a combination of my clinical and pharmaceutical technology experience and expertise, my research addresses both of these concepts. I am involved in two separate international collaborations (Cambridge University and University of Bath, UK), exploring the development of dissolution and drug release testing methodologies which will support drug development for two specific populations: critically ill patients and neonates/infants. My collaboration with Cambridge University focusses on the development of a dissolution testing environment from a nipple shield designed specifically with the aim of drug delivery to neonates while breastfeeding. My collaboration with University of Bath focusses on the development of dissolution testing for lipid-based parenteral formulations, with the dissolution medium representing the characteristics of plasma in critically ill patients. Of topical significance is my collaboration with the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and the School of Medicine, TCD, investigating the role of pharmacokinetic "boosting" drugs in reducing dosing (cost) of expensive medicines. Finally I have an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Suzanne McCarthy, in University College Cork. We are investigating the potential for provision of breastfeeding support in a community pharmacy environment. Primarily this focusses on support for medication use (in either baby or mother) during breastfeeding, but with a general health promotion angle also.Projects
- Title
- An investigation to determine an appropriate teicoplanin dosage regimen for the treatment of Gram-positive infection in patients with haematological malignancy.
- Summary
- Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibiotic that has bactericidal activity against aerobic and anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria including multi-resistant staphylococci. Along with vancomycin, it has become one of the treatments of choice for Gram-positive sepsis, including infections caused by meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Teicoplanin has a structure and spectrum of activity similar to that of vancomycin but its pharmacokinetic properties are quite distinct. For these reasons, teicoplanin is often the preferred choice over vancomycin for the treatment of Gram-positive infection in patients with haematological malignancy. Despite this, specific dosage guidelines and an appropriate target trough level for this patient group have not been determined. Higher doses have been suggested for patients with haematological malignancy, but increasing the dose not only increases the risk of adverse effects but also reduces the cost-effectiveness when compared to vancomycin. Therefore, most patients with haematological malignancy continue to receive standard doses of teicoplanin and therapeutic drug monitoring is not widely practised. As patients with haematological malignancy are at high risk for developing severe Gram-positive infections, underdosing of teicoplanin is of great concern. The aims of this project are to determine current teicoplanin prescribing practices, to investigate whether certain clinical or patient factors contribute to efficacy or toxicity of teicoplanin or to trough levels attained, and to conduct a prospective trial to determine pharmacokinetic characteristics of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy. Phase 1, a survey of teicoplanin practice in all Irish/UK haematology services, was completed in June 2013. Findings revealed that the majority of hospitals rely on the manufacturer's standard dosage regimen rather than therapeutic drug monitoring as an indicator for therapeutic dosing and that local practices lack a clear evidence base. Data gathering for Phase 2, a retrospective study of teicoplanin dosage and clinical outcomes in teicoplanin-treated patients with haematological malignancy at Tallaght Hospital, was completed in November 2013. Results suggested a positive relationship between teicoplanin concentration and treatment outcome. Findings also suggested a risk of underexposure if conventional doses of teicoplanin are used in patients with haematological malignancy. A model was developed for dosage optimisation of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy. Nephrotoxicity analysis suggested that teicoplanin is well tolerated at the renal level. Phase 3, a clinical trial to determine the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy, was commenced in subjects in March 2014.
- Funding Agency
- Meath Foundation (In collaboration with Tallaght hospital Haematology and PHarmacy departments).
- Date From
- March 2012
- Title
- Simulation of dissolution rate profiles of pharmaceutical systems
- Summary
- This project involves the development of software code which allows generation of a simulated profile of particles dissolving over time. It includes simulation of dissolution under a range of pharmaceutical industry-standard test conditions. Dissolution testing is a routine testing process in the pharmaceutical industry. Both instrumentation and operational characteristics of the dissolution test are rigidly defined. It is a recognised problem that dissolution results can fall out of specification,suggesting that a drug is being released too slowly or too quickly. These out of specification results could be due to (unintentional) changes in many stages of the manufacturing process, or could be as a result of a change in the operation or specifications of the dissolution testing apparatus itself. Existing solutions concern either running experimental tests, or use of certain dissolution theory and models, which do not always take the detailed operational characteristics of the test procedure into account. This technology allows insight into effects of the testing conditions on the dissolution rate, without having to run real-time dissolution tests to check each effect.
- Date From
- October 2008
- Date To
- Present
- Title
- A clinical pharmacokinetic evaluation of amphotericin B lipid complex in critically ill patients
- Summary
- Amphotericin B lipid complex (ABLC) has been used extensively to treat proven or suspected severe fungal infections. In this project, the effect of continuous renal replacement therapy - continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) on the pharamcokinetics of ABLC in critically ill patients was examined. Sixteen patients (21 profiles) were recruited to the study; 9 profiles undergoing CVVHDF and 12 profiles not undergoing CVVHDF, during their ABLC treatment. Non compartmental analysis was performed to calculate the following PK parameters of AMB: clearance (Cl), volume of distribution at steady state (Vss) and half life (t1/2). In the current study, wide variability was observed in both intra- and inter-patient PK of AMB, after the administration of ABLC. Multiexponential kinetics of AMB, after the administration of ABLC, were also observed. The median values of Cl, Vss and t1/2 calculated within a sampling interval of AMB were determined to be 27 L/h and 44 L/h, 1500 L and 2000 L, 34 hours and 33 hours for patients undergoing CVVHDF and not undergoing CVVHDF respectively. No statistical difference was found between PK parameters of AMB in patients undergoing and not undergoing CVVHDF. Also, the maximum amount cleared by CVVHDF was less than 1% of ABLC dose. Statistically significant relationships were observed between Vss and albumin and C reactive protein (CRP), where a decrease in albumin and an increase in CRP levels were related to an increase in Vss. In addition, a trend effect was demonstrated where an increase in the daily dose of noradrenaline administered was related to an increase in plasma AMB concentrations.
- Funding Agency
- In collaboration with the ICU, Tallaght hospital (part funded by Cephalon Ireland Ltd).
- Date From
- October 2008
- Date To
- July 2013
- Title
- Effect of hydrodynamics in the USP apparatus 4 on dissolution/drug release rates
- Summary
- The dissolution rates of model compounds of low- to intermediate-solubility were examined under conditions of no forced convection (natural convection) and at low flow rates in the USP 4 dissolution apparatus (Flow-through apparatus). The hydrodynamics of the flow-through apparatus were simulated using the CFD software, Fluent. The effect of low, time-dependent fluid velocities on dissolution was being examined, in particular with relevance to the estimated magnitude of fluid velocities in the GI tract. The effect of natural convection was found to have a signfiicant impact on dissolution rate under low velocity conditions.
- Funding Agency
- IRCSET
- Date From
- October 2007
- Date To
- July 2012
Recognition
Representations
Member of accreditation committee for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme for Pharmacists
Irish Institute of Pharmacy: Member of Peer Review Panel for Assessment of CPD Programmes
Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIOP): Member of working group for IIOP submission to National Maternity Strategy
Committee for Women's Health group, United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association
Regular peer-reviewer for relevant scientific and clinical journal (13)
External examiner -PhD thesis - University of Barcelona
External examiner- MSc thesis - University of Western Cape, South Africa
Adjudicator at Hospital Pharmacy Association of Ireland (HPAI) annual meeting -poster competition
Member of the Accreditation Working Group for the Five-Year Integrated Pharmacy Programme
Institutional Lead -PQPharm (Postgraduate Qualification in Pharmacy) International educational project funded under the the EU Tempus Programme
Awards and Honours
Sotax Award for Dissolution Innovation
Tocher Medal from Robert Gordon University 1st place final year pharmacy exams
Memberships
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland
United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association
General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC-UK)