Position

Professor of Pharmaceutics, Department of Pharmaceutics

Areas of Expertise

Biopharmaceutics, Drug Delivery and Formulation, Oral absorption, Colonic Delivery, Gamma Scintigraphy, Modified Release Delivery Systems, Simulation of Gatrointestinal Conditions In Vitro.

Biography

Professor Abdul Basit holds the position of Professor of Pharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, University of London. He is also a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Chile. He further holds an Honorary Lectureship in Gastroenterology at the Wingate Institute of Neurogastroenterology, Queen Mary College, University of London. Dr Basit read Pharmacy at the University of Bath and graduated in 1993 with first class honours. Following a short period with Pfizer in the UK, he undertook post-graduate studies in Pharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, University of London and was awarded a PhD in 1999. In recognition of his research achievements Professor Basit was the recipient of the 2004 Young Investigator Award in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS). He is the first scientist based outside of North America to receive this award.

Research Interests

Prof Basit's research sits at the interface between pharmaceutical science and gastroenterology and is focused on oral delivery. This encompasses fundamental studies on gastrointestinal physiology through formulation and modified release issues to the clinical evaluation of dosage forms using gamma scintigraphy. He is particularly interested in modulating gastrointestinal transit and membrane permeability through physiological and pharmaceutical means, as well as establishing the potential of the colon as a site for macromolecule delivery, metabolism and absorption. To this end he has been involved in the conceptualisation and development of an amylose-based technology for colonic delivery (COLAL™). This patented technology is the first universal bacteria-sensitive colon-specific delivery system to have successfully completed phase II clinical trials. A pan-European phase III clinical trial in patients with ulcerative colitis is now underway. Professor Basit’s other patented technologies have been licensed to the pharmaceutical industry and are at various stages of clinical development. Professor Basit leads a large and multi-disciplinary research group of 10 PhD students and post-doctoral fellows. He has published extensively and has a number of papers, patents, book chapters and abstracts to his name. Professor Basit sits on the scientific advisory board of several pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and is on the editorial board of scientific journals. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences and is a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry. To date Professor Basit has attracted more than £3 million in grant income from various funding bodies, including research councils, charitable organisations and industrial concerns.     
For further information regarding Dr. Basit's research activities click here.

Recent Peer-reviewed Publications

F.J. Varum, H.M. Merchant, A.W. Basit. Oral modified-release formulations in motion: the relationship between gastrointestinal transit and drug absorption. Int. J. Pharm. (2010) 395: 26-36

F.J. Varum, F. Veiga, J.S. Sousa, A.W. Basit. An investigation into the role of mucus thickness on mucoadhesion in the gastrointestinal tract of pig. Eur. J. Pharm. Sci. (2010) 40: 335-341

F. Liu, P Moreno, A.W. Basit. A novel double-coating approach for improved pH-triggered delivery to the ileo-colonic region of the gastrointestinal tract. Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. (2010) 74: 311-315

H.M. Fadda, H.A. Merchant, B.T. Arafat, A.W. Basit. Physiological bicarbonate buffers: stabilisation and use as dissolution media for modified release systems. Int. J. Pharm (2009) 382: 56-60

E.L. McConnell, C.B. Macfarlane, A.W. Basit. An observational study on the influence of solvent composition on the architecture of drug-layered pellets. Int J Pharm (2009) 380: 67-71

E.L McConnell, F. Liu, A.W. Basit. Colonic treatments and targets: issues and opportunities. J Drug Target (2009) 17:335-363

S. Nilkumhang, A.W. Basit. The robustness and flexibility of an emulsion solvent evaporation method to prepare pH-responsive microparticles. Int. J. Pharm. (2009) 377: 135-141

R.A. Kendall, M.A. Alhnan, S. Nilkumhang, S. Murdan, A.W. Basit. Fabrication and in vivo evaluation of highly pH responsive acrylic microparticles for targeted gastrointestinal delivery. Eur J Pharm Sci (2009) 37:284-290

F. Liu, R. Lizio, C. Meier, H.U. Petereit, P. Blakely, A.W. Basit.  A novel concept in enteric coating: a double coating system providing rapid drug release in the proximal small intestine.  J. Control. Release (2009) 133: 119-24

S. Nilkumhang, M.A. Alhnan, E.L. McConnell, A.W. Basit. Drug distribution in enteric microparticles. Int. J. Pharm. (2009) 379: 1-8

A.W. Basit, M.D. Short, E.L. McConnell.  Microbiota-triggered colonic delivery: robustness of the polysaccharide approach in the fed state in man.  J. Drug Target. (2009) 17: 64-71

F. Liu, R. Lizio, V.J. Schneider, H.U. Petereit, P. Blakey, A.W. Basit.  SEM/EDX and confocal microscopy analysis of novel and conventional enteric coated systems.  Int. J. Pharm (2009) 369: 72-8

M. McGirr, M. McAllister, E.E. Peters, A.W. Vickers, A.F. Parr, A.W. Basit.  The use of the Intelisite Companion device to delivery mucoadhesive polymers to the dog colon.  Eur. J. Pharm. Sci (2009) 36: 386-391

H.M. Fadda, E.L. McConnell, M.D. Short, A.W. Basit.  Meal-induced acceleration of tablet transit through the human small intestine.  Pharm. Res (2009) 26: 356-60

E.L. McConnell, H.M. Fadda, A.W. Basit.  Gut instincts: Explorations in intestinal physiology and drug delivery.  Int. J. Pharm (2008) 364: 213-26

T. Sousa, R. Paterson, V. Moore, A. Carlsson, B. Abrahamsson, A.W. Basit. The gastrointestinal microbiota as a site for the biotransformation of drugs.  Int. J. Pharm (2008) 363: 1-25.

V.C. Ibekwe, M.K. Khela, D.F. Evans, A.W. Basit.  A new concept in colonic targeting: a combined pH-responsive and bacterially-triggered drug delivery technology.  Aliment Pharmacol. Ther. (2008) 28: 911-916.

F.J. Varum, E.L. McConnell, J.J. Sousa, F. Veiga, A.W. Basit.  Mucoadhesion and the gastrointestinal tract.  Crit. Rev. Ther. Drug. Carrier Syst. (2008) 25: 207-258.

D.A. Ashiru, R. Patel, A.W. Basit.  Polyethylene Glycol 400 Enhances the Bioavailability of a BCS Class III Drug (Ranitidine) in Male Subjects but Not Females.  Pharm. Res. (2008) 25:1828-35.

E. Mwesigwa, A.W. Basit, G. Buckton.  Moisture sorption and permeability characteristics of polymer films: Implications for their use as barrier coatings for solid dosage forms containing hydrolyzable drug substances.  J. Pharm. Sci. (2008) 97:4433-45.

E.L. McConnell, M.D. Short, A.W. Basit, An in vivo comparison of intestinal pH and bacteria as physiological trigger mechanisms for colonic targeting in man.  J. Control. Release (2008) 130: 154-60.

V.C. Ibekwe, H.M. Fadda, E.L. McConnell, M.K. Khela, D.F. Evans, A.W. Basit. Interplay Between Intestinal pH, Transit Time and Feed Status on the In Vivo Performance of pH Responsive Ileo-Colonic Release Systems.  Pharm. Res. (2008) 25: 1828-1835.

E.L. McConnell, S. Murdan, A.W. Basit.  An investigation into the digestion of chitosan (non-crosslinked and crosslinked) by human colonic bacteria.  J. Pharm. Sci. (2008) 97: 3820-3829.

E.L. McConnell, A.W. Basit, S. Murdan.  Measurements of rat and mouse gastrointestinal pH fluid and lymphoid tissue, and implications for in-vivo experiments.  J. Pharm. Pharmacol. (2008) 60: 63-70.

H.M. Fadda, M.A. Mohamed, A.W. Basit.  Impairment of the in vitro drug release behaviour of oral modified release preparations in the presence of alcohol.  Int. J. Pharm (2008) 360: 171-176.

E.L. McConnell, A.W. Basit, S. Murdan.  Colonic antigen administration induces significantly higher humoral levels of colonic and vaginal IgA, and serum IgG compared to oral administration.  Vaccine (2008) 26: 639-646.

F.J.O. Varum, A.W. Basit, J.J. Sousa, F. Veiga. Mucoadhesion studies in the gastrointestinal tract to increase oral drug bioavailability. Braz J  Pharm Sci (2008) 44, 535-548.

H.M. Fadda, M.C. Hernandez, D.N. Margetson, S.M. McAllister, A.W. Basit, S. Brocchini, N. Suarez.  The molecular interactions that influence the plasticizer dependent dissolution of acrylic polymer films.  J. Pharm. Sci (2008) 97: 3957-3971.

For a complete list of publications click here.