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Professor Sangeeta Tanna

Job: Professor of Pharmaceutical Analysis

Faculty: Health and Life Sciences

School/department: Leicester School of Pharmacy

Address: De Montfort, University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH.

T: +44 (0)116 207 8274

E: stanna@dmu.ac.uk

W: /hls

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Personal profile

Prof. Sangeeta Tanna's research interests are in translational research working at the interface of applied analytical science and healthcare provision and clinical practice. She has expertise in the following areas:

  • Detection of substandard and falsified/counterfeit medicines
  • Spectroscopy techniques (ATR-FTIR, Raman, NIR) for the rapid detection of substandard and falsified/counterfeit medicines
  • Mass spectrometry techniques for the rapid detection of substandard and falsified/counterfeit medicines
  • Quality assurance of medicines
  • Dried blood spot (DBS) analysis
  • Quantitative bioanalysis
  • Microsampling
  • Clinical mass spectrometry
  • Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
  • Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS)
  • Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)
  • Ambient ionisation techniques
  • Medication adherence/compliance
  • Therapeutic drug monitoring
  • Clinical pharmacy practice
  • Paediatric pharmacokinetics
  • Paediatric biomarkers
  • Detection of food adulterants

 

She is particularly interested in the application of analytical techniques to the determination of low levels of target analytes, principally involving improvements to healthcare of patients. There include:

  • Assessment of adherence to cardiovascular medications using dried blood spot (DBS) analysis
  • Quantification of biomarkers for chronic diseases in blood microsamples
  • Dried blood spot (DBS) analysis for paediatric pharmacokinetic studies and patient care
  • Investigation, detection and analysis of counterfeit (falsified) and substandard medicines
  • Development of in vitro characterisation and analytical methods for a novel glucose-responsive, self-regulated insulin delivery system.

 

Prof. Tanna has co-authored a book with Dr Graham Lawson entitled:

“Analytical Chemistry for Assessing Medication Adherence”

This book is published by Elsevier  (). 

 

As Chair of the School of Pharmacy Athena SWAN self-assessment team (SAT), Prof. Tanna led ÐßÐßÊÓƵ's first departmental Athena SWAN submission which was awarded Bronze in April 2019.

 

Research group affiliations

Pharmacy Practice Research Group

Publications and outputs


  • dc.title: Synthesis and Characterisation of Bioactive Fluorescent FITC-Insulin Glulisine Conjugates for Potential Use in Insulin Delivery dc.contributor.author: Desai, Unmesh; Taylor, M. Joan; Tanna, Sangeeta; Horley, Neill; Seifi, Mohsen; Allan, Raymond N.; Michal Kozielecki; Singh, Harprit; Janchivlamdan, Dolgormaa; Joseph Festa; Andrew R. Bottrill; Ahmed Alsabih; Sahota, T. S. dc.description.abstract: Background/Objectives: Drug development and delivery remain critical areas of research for addressing modern bioanalytical challenges. Understanding drug biodistribution, stability, and metabolism within biological systems is essential for optimising therapeutic efficacy. This study focuses on synthesising and characterising a novel fluorescent conjugate derived from commercially available rapid-acting insulin glulisine (Apidra®) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The objective was to produce a mono-labelled FITC-insulin glulisine conjugate without employing complex protective group strategies or multi-step processes. Methods: The conjugation was optimised by varying molar ratios (1:1 to 3:1) and reaction times (18–24 h) at pH 7. Results: The desired B1 mono-labelled conjugate was successfully achieved at a 2:1 molar ratio, pH 7, and 18 h reaction time. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry confirmed the molecular weight and conjugation site, with fragmentation analysis identifying FITC attachment at phenylalanine (B1) on the β-chain (m/z = 537.11). Western blots performed on C2C12 skeletal cell lysates stimulated with the FITC–insulin glulisine conjugate showed Akt and IRS-1 activity similar to that of cells treated with native commercial insulin glulisine. Confocal imaging also demonstrated translocation of GLUT4 in FITC–insulin glulisine conjugate-treated C2C12 cells similar to that of commercial native insulin glulisine. Octanol-water partitioning studies assessed the physicochemical properties of the conjugate. Conclusions: This approach demonstrates an efficient method for fluorescent labelling of insulin analogues, enabling future applications in imaging, biodistribution studies, and pharmacokinetic profiling. dc.description: open access article

  • dc.title: Substandard and falsified medicines in Africa: healthcare systems challenges, supply chain issues, regulatory challenges and strategies to increase access to quality medicines dc.contributor.author: Chabalenge, B.; Sahota, T. S.; Ermolina, I.; Tanna, Sangeeta dc.description.abstract: Africa is a unique continent due to high disease burden for both communicable and non-communicable diseases, attracting large-scale distribution of medicines to tackle public health issues. This poses several challenges for the healthcare systems, particularly concerning the circulation of substandard and falsified medicines. The widespread of substandard and falsified medicines causes adverse health effects on patients and contributes to millions of deaths annually. This review explores how health systems in Africa, supply chain issues and regulatory environment affect the circulation of substandard and falsified medicines. A narrative review was conducted drawing information from academic publication, official reports and other grey literature between January 2014 and October 2025 focusing on substandard and falsified medicines, health systems, supply chain and regulatory issues in Africa. Health system challenges in Africa include uneven geographical distribution of health facilities, medicines stockouts, increased costs of medicines purchased from private healthcare facilities and inadequate health financing. These factors increase out-of-pocket expenditure on patients and drive the poor majority of Africans to source cheaper medicines from unregulated markets, thereby increasing the likelihood of consuming substandard and falsified medicines. Supply chain issues include a lack of industrialisation to meet the medicine demand, a lack of support to local logisticians, poor forecasting, and over-dependence on imports, complicating the supply of quality medicines. The complexity of the supply chain system creates numerous opportunities to disrupt the supply of quality and safe medicines, making it easy for substandard and falsified medicines to reach the patient. Medicines regulation in Africa also suffers several challenges including limited well-functioning regulatory systems, inadequate staffing levels and a lack of analytical technologies for fast screening of substandard and falsified medicines. The review further provides recommendations and priority areas that should be considered to strengthen health systems, supply chains and regulation of medicines in Africa to reduce the prevalence of substandard and falsified on the continent. dc.description: open access article

  • dc.title: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DRUG RELEASING CHARACTERISTICS OF A GLUCOSE-SENSITIVE GEL dc.contributor.author: Tanna, Sangeeta dc.description.abstract: The treatment of diabetes would be much safer if there were dosage systems capable of delivering anti-hyperglycaemics in response to physiological glucose levels. Previous self-regulating dosage prototypes have necessitated the derivatisation of insulin to bear a sugar moiety which then participates in competition for receptors on the lectin concanavalin A (Con A). In the following novel approach a glucose-sensitive gel is described, also based on Con A, but in this case on a polysaccharide displacement mechanism independent of the drug involved. Gels formulated with a synthetic polysucrose (Ficoll 400®) cross-linked with Con A were studied because better solute release profiles were produced than from dextran-containing gels studied initially. Glucose reversed the gelation by displacing the polysaccharide from the Con A binding sites. Such gels, confined between two 0.1 gm filter disks in a diffusion cell, were used to form the boundary membrane of pre-determined pathlength for varying solute reservoirs. This controlled the solute release rate from a diffusion cell in a series of in vitro studies. The gel viscosity fell on contact with glucose, increasing the permeability to the diffusing solute held in the reservoir. The flux increase could be reversed by the removal of glucose from the diffusion medium. This gel permeability switch formed the basis of an in vitro self-regulating drug delivery system. Studies with a low molecular weight drag model, tartrazine, indicated a complex glucose response profile in which the gel component concentration, pathlength and temperature were important parameters, each having an optimum value for induction of a response to glucose in terms of the change in flux of solute from the reservoir. The effect on flux could be elicited only by sugars which bind to Con A, which in a physiological environment restricts the reaction to glucose. The system was investigated for the effect of a higher molecular weight model drug. A polyethylene-glycol based dye (PEG-Blue-5, average mw=5,000) was synthesised for this purpose. The glucose-induced increase in flux was lower for PEG-Blue-5 than for tantrazine. The delivery of insulin itself was then investigated. Aqueous and non-aqueous reservoirs of bovine insulin and Velosulin®, a commercial preparation of porcine insulin, were examined for their performance in terms of glucose response and reversibility. The magnitude of response was affected by the gel formulation, pathlength, pre-loading of gel with insulin, temperature, reservoir type and buffering of bulk receptor medium. All insulin reservoir systems were easily reversed under the conditions used, irrespective of reservoir solvent. However, the nherent tendency of insulin to aggregate is likely to have caused an apparent flux reduction with temperature increase and time in systems where the external receptor was unbuffered. Isoelectric precipitation of insulin may account partly for these problems because a buffered external receptor environment altered the solute release characteristics and improved the reproducibility in the magnitude of response. The advantages in the use of the non-aqueous reservoir system were increased thermal stability of insulin and reduced glucose uptake. This study demonstrated the feasibility of delivering unmodified insulin in a self-regulating drug delivery system.

  • dc.title: Suspected poor-quality medicines in Kenya: A retrospective descriptive study of medicine quality-related complaints reports in Kenya’s pharmacovigilance database dc.contributor.author: Toroitich, Anthony Martin; Armitage, Rachel; Tanna, Sangeeta dc.description.abstract: Poor-quality, substandard and falsified, medicines pose a significant public health threat, particularly in low-middle-income countries. A retrospective study was performed on Kenya's Pharmacovigilance Electronic Reporting System (2014–2021) to characterize medicine quality-related complaints and identify associations using disproportionality analysis. A total of 2767 individual case safety reports were identified, categorized into medicines with quality defects (52.1%), suspected therapeutic failure (41.6%), and suspected adverse drug reactions (6.3%). Predominantly reported were antineoplastic agents (28.6%), antivirals (11.7%), and antibacterial agents (10.8%) potentially linked to non-adherence to good manufacturing practices, inappropriate usage and supply chain degradation. Notably, analgesics (8.2%), and medical devices (3.5%) notified had quality defects, predominantly from government health facilities (60.0%). Antineoplastic agents (20.2%) and antivirals (3.7%) were frequently reported from suspected therapeutic failures and suspected adverse drug reactions, respectively, across both private for-profit facilities (26.5%) and not-for-profit facilities (5.4%). Underreporting occurred in unlicensed health facilities (8.1%), due to unawareness and reporting challenges. Pharmacists (46.1%), and pharmaceutical technicians (11.7%) predominantly reported quality defects, while medical doctors (28.0%) reported suspected therapeutic failures. Orally administered generic medicines (76.9%) were commonly reported, with tablets (5.8%) identified as potential sources of suspected adverse drug reactions, while quality defects were notified from oral solutions, suspensions, and syrups (7.0%) and medical devices (3.9%). The COVID-19 pandemic correlated with reduced reporting possibly due to prioritization of health surveillance. This study provides valuable evidence to supporting the use of medicine quality-related complaints for proactive, targeted regulatory control of high-risk medicines on the market. This approach can be strengthened by employing standardized terminology to prioritize monitoring of commonly reported suspected poor-quality medicines for risk-based sampling and testing within the supply chain. dc.description: open access article

  • dc.title: IR Spectroscopic Analytical Tools in the Fight Against Counterfeit Medicines dc.contributor.author: Tanna, Sangeeta; Armitage, Rachel dc.description.abstract: Counterfeit medicines pose a huge and growing threat to public health globally and have consequences for healthcare systems and economies worldwide. These poor-quality medicines impact on public health not only in low-resource countries but also in the industrialised world. In order to tackle this under-addressed global health challenge, accurate, robust, affordable, easily operable, portable and non-destructive analytical tools for the rapid in-field detection of poor-quality medicines are critically needed. A vast array of analytical approaches can be employed to discriminate between genuine and counterfeit pharmaceutical products and amongst these vibrational infrared (IR) spectroscopy is an ideal candidate due to its ease of sampling and speed of analysis. In this chapter the authors explain the fundamentals of IR techniques and the chemometric approaches employed. They also provide a review of the IR spectroscopy-based studies for the authenticity/qualitative identification and quantitative analysis of medicines over the past two decades. Among these, portable near-infrared (NIR) and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy devices in combination with multivariate chemometric tools show promising results. Moreover, some of the current challenges in using these IR spectroscopy techniques are discussed and future perspectives are anticipated.

  • dc.title: Synthesis and antitubercular activity of novel 4-arylalkyl substituted thio-, oxy- and sulfoxy-quinoline analogues targeting the cytochrome bc1 complex dc.contributor.author: Murnane, Robert; Brucoli, Federico; Tanna, Sangeeta; Allen, Renee; Santana-Gomez, Felipe; Parish, Tanya; Zloh, Mire dc.description.abstract: A library of 4-substituted quinolines was synthesised based on the structural features of the privileged 4-(benzylthio)-6-methoxy-2-methylquinoline scaffold. Quinoline-based chemical probes have proven to be effective anti-tuberculosis agents with the ability of inhibiting components of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) respiratory chain including the b subunit of the cytochrome bc1 complex. Novel 4-(arylalkyl)-thio, -oxy and sulfoxy-quinoline analogues were tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of MTB H37Rv and QcrB mutant strains, and the compounds mode of action was investigated. Members of the 4-subtituted thio- and sulfoxyquinoline series exhibited significant growth inhibitory activity in the high nanomolar range against wild-type MTB and induced depletion of intracellular ATP. These probes also showed reduced potency in the QcrB T313I mutant strain, thus indicating the cytochrome bc1 oxidase complex as the molecular target. Interestingly, new 4-(quinolin-2-yl)oxy-quinoline 4i was more selective for the QcrB T313I strain compared to the wild-type strain. dc.description: open access article

  • dc.title: Aminobenzofuran-containing analogues of proximicins exhibit higher antiproliferative activity against human UG-87 glioblastoma cells compared to temozolomide dc.contributor.author: Shokrzadeh Madieh, Nasrin; Brucoli, Federico; Tanna, Sangeeta; Alqurayn, Norah Ahmed; Vaideanu, Alexandra; Schatzlein, Andreas dc.description.abstract: A new series of proximicin analogues containing a benzofuran moiety as the replacement of the di-furan scaffold of the parent compound were synthesised and evaluated for their anti-proliferative activities against human glioblastoma cells U-87 MG. Proximicins A, B, and C are secondary metabolites produced by Verrucosispora Fiedleri MG-37, a Gram-positive actinomycete isolated from deep-sea sediment. Proximicins exhibit significant cytotoxic and apoptotic effects in a number of tumour cell lines, although further investigations on these natural products biological activity are hampered by the challenging synthesis of their constitutive di-furan unit. Therefore, the easily-synthesisable benzofuran ring was elected as a replacement of the di-furan platform, and a library of proximicin analogues was prepared in which different substituents were introduced at both the N-terminus and C-terminus of the benzofuran core unit. The novel compounds were tested against U-87 MG, as it was previously found that proximicins targeted this cancerous cell line, and the human healthy cell line WI-38. Temozolomide, the chemotherapeutic agent of choice for the treatment of glioblastoma, was used as a control. Analysis of growth inhibitory concentration values revealed that a number of furan-benzofuran-containing proximicin analogues, including 23(16) (IC50 U-87 MG = 6.54 μg mL−1) exhibited higher antiproliferative activity against glioblastoma cells compared to both proximicins A–C and temozolomide (IC50 U-87 MG = 29.19 μg mL−1) in U-87 MG. dc.description: open access article

  • dc.title: Utilizing quantitative dried blood spot analysis to objectively assess adherence to cardiovascular pharmacotherapy among patients at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya dc.contributor.author: Wata, David; Ogwu, John; Dunford, Louise; Lawson, Graham; Tanna, Sangeeta dc.description.abstract: The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is rising in Kenya and non-adherence to cardiovascular pharmacotherapy is a growing global public health issue that leads to treatment failure, an increased risk of cardiac events and poor clinical outcomes. This study assessed adherence to selected cardiovascular therapy medications among CVD patients attending outpatient clinics at Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya by determining drug concentration(s) in patient dried blood spot (DBS) samples. Patients who had been taking one or more of the five commonly prescribed CVD medications (amlodipine, atenolol, atorvastatin, losartan, and valsartan) for at least six months were enrolled. Each patient completed a short questionnaire about their medication history and then provided a finger-prick blood spot sample from which drug concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry analysis. Two hundred and thirty-nine patients (62.3% female) participated in the study. The median number of medications used by patients was 2 (IQR 75%-25% is 3-1). Less than half (117; 49.0%) of patients were adherent to their prescribed CVD pharmacotherapy. Binary regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between non-adherence and the number of medications in the treatment regimen (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.583; 95%CI: 0.949-2.639; P-value = 0.039) and that gender was not an independent predictor of medication adherence (OR 1.233; 95%CI: 0.730-2.083; P-value = 0.216). Valuable information about adherence to each medication in the patient’s treatment regimen was obtained using quantitative DBS analysis showing that adherence to CVD medications was not uniform. DBS sampling, due its minimally invasive nature, convenience and ease of transport is a useful alternative matrix to monitor adherence to pharmacotherapies objectively, when combined with hyphenated mass spectrometry analytical techniques. This information can provide physicians with an evidence-based novel approach towards personalization and optimization of CVD pharmacotherapy and implementing interventions in the Kenyan population, thereby improving clinical outcomes. dc.description: open access article

  • dc.title: Poor-quality medicines are everyone's problem dc.contributor.author: Tanna, Sangeeta; Armitage, R. dc.description: This is an open-access article published under Creative Commons Licence 4.0.

  • dc.title: Patients access to medicines – A critical review of the healthcare system in Kenya dc.contributor.author: Toroitich, Anthony Martin; Dunford, Louise; Armitage, Rachel; Tanna, Sangeeta dc.description.abstract: Access to affordable, safe, effective, and quality-assured medicines by a patient is important for good health outcomes. Unfortunately, there is sparse literature published on the pharmaceutical enablers that may increase the sale of a substandard and falsified (SF) medicine to a patient in Kenya. The review highlights some of the factors that may facilitate the entry of SF medicines into the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain and discusses their impact on patient access to medicines. Lack of essential medicines in public health facilities is an important factor that may contribute to increased demand for medicine-related out-of-pocket expense from private health facilities thus a likelihood for a patient purchasing SF medicine from unlicensed and illegal medicine outlets or unregulated websites. The need to increase medicine availability in the public sector by the Ministry of Health (MOH) is emphasized in addition to the strengthening of public procurement to cushion it from corruption and mismanagement. In addition, the MOH should promote local pharmaceutical manufacturing and implement a medicine pricing containment policy to avoid abuse and prevent overexploitation of patients, increase medicine price transparency, and reduce pharmaceutical supply chain distortion. Recommended regulatory reviews include accreditation of unlicensed illegal medicine outlets to facilitate accountability, regulatory oversight, and active surveillance. The national post-market surveillance regulatory capacity should be strengthened to improve rational medicine use. A three-year diploma course should be replaced with a shorter one- or two-year pharmaceutical support staff training not eligible to superintend a pharmacy. The recommended legislative review includes a mandatory clause to enforce generic prescribing and the implementation of generic substitution by health workers. Unethical manipulative pharmaceutical marketing practices should carry stiffer penalties to deter malpractice. Future research areas include investigation of medicine prescribing and dispensing practices, medicine consumption studies, medicine price differences within different health sub-sectors, and between licensed pharmacies and unlicensed illegal medicine outlets. dc.description: open access article

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Areas of teaching

  • Pharmaceutics
  • Biopharmaceutics
  • Novel/advanced drug delivery systems
  • Paediatric formulations and drug delivery
  • Geriatric pharmacotherapy
  • Substandard/falsified medicines
  • Detection of counterfeit cosmetic products
  • Therapeutic drug monitoring
  • Assessment of medication adherence using analytical science
  • Bioanalysis for personalised drug dosing

Courses taught

  • MPharm Pharmacy
  • BSc Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science
  • MSc Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Honours and awards

APS PharmSci Geoffrey Phillips Analytical Science Commendation Prize 2016
Counterfeit medicines: Rapid quantification of active pharmaceutical ingredients in tablet formulations.
Ogwu J, Lawson G, Tanna S
APS 7th International PharmSci Conference. Glasgow, UK. 5-7 September 2016 

Nominated for Times Higher Education (THE) Research Project of the Year 2012
Blood Spot Analysis.
Tanna S and Lawson G
November 2012

Royal Society of Chemistry – Analytical Methods Prize 2010
Analysis of dried blood spots – the potential for paediatric pharmacokinetic studies of captopril.
Tanna S, Pandya H, Mulla H, Titman C, and Lawson G.
RSC Analytical Research Forum. Loughborough University. 26-28 July 2010 

British Pharmaceutical Conference 2009 – Science Poster Prize
The use of blood spot analysis in paediatric care - From laboratory to bedside and back again.
Lawson G, Mulla H, Pandya H, Tanna S.
Science @ BPC2009 Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Manchester Central. Sept 7-9 2009. 

Runner-up for the 2003 Westminster Medal & Prize for best research poster
The design of a self-regulated insulin delivery system
Tanna S, Sahota T, Taylor MJ.
SET for Britain - The House of Commons Reception for Britain’s Top Younger Scientists, Engineers and Technologists, The House of Commons, Westminster. 17 March 2003

Membership of professional associations and societies

  • Royal Society of Chemistry - Fellow
  • British Mass Spectrometry Society
  • Midlands Mass Spectrometry Group
  • Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Projects

  • Assessment of adherence to cardiovascular medications using dried blood spot (DBS) analysis  - in collaboration with Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya and hospitals in Iraq.

   Enquiries for collaborations with other hospitals (public and private) are welcomed.

  • Rapid authentication of medicine quality  - in collaboration with Pharmacy and Poisons Board (Kenya Ministry of Health).

   Enquiries for collaborations with other medicine quality testing laboratories are welcomed.

  • Development of a rapid detection and risk-based surveillance model for screening of substandard and falsified medicines in Zambia. Project funded by Commonwealth PhD Scholarship and in collaboration with Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority.

Conference attendance

Invited Lectures

Toroitich AM, Armitage R, Tanna S. Analysis of Kenya’s pharmacovigilance database for reports of poor-quality medicines: A retrospective observational study. The University of Nairobi and Kenyatta National Hospital 6th International Conference on Health (ICH 2023). Nairobi, Kenya. 12-13 October 2023.

Lawson G and Tanna S. Identifying medication nonadherence could save £billions. CPSA Europe 2019. Cambridge, UK. 5-8 February 2019.

Tanna S, Alalaqi A, Lawson G. Monitoring of cardiovascular drug levels by quantitative LC-HRMS analysis of patient collected micro-volume blood samples. World Conference on Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. Barcelona, Spain. 23-24 July 2018.

Lawson G, Ogwu J, Armitage R, Tanna S. Counterfeit tablet investigations: are Raman and ATR FT/IR techniques for the real world? World Conference on Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. Barcelona, Spain. 23-24 July 2018.

Tanna S. Assessment of medication nonadherence – A UK perspective. ‘Internationalization@Home’ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. 2nd May 2018.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. Development of an evidence based assessment of medication adherence for heart disease patients. APS 7th International PharmSci Conference. Glasgow, UK. 5-7 September 2016

Ogwu J, Lawson G, Tanna S. Counterfeit medicines: Rapid quantification of active pharmaceutical ingredients in tablet formulations. APS 7th International PharmSci Conference. Glasgow, UK. 5-7 September 2016

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. Quantitative LC-ToF MS analyses of dried blood spots: Developing an assessment of medication adherence for heart disease patients. The Reid Bioanalytical Forum. Surrey, UK. September 2015

Tanna S and Lawson G. Adherence to medication assessed using dried blood spot analysis. Invited lecture at the 5th International Conference and Exhibition on Analytical & Bioanalytical Techniques. Beijing, China 18-20 August 2014

Lawson G and Tanna S. Counterfeit tablet investigations: Is ATR FT/IR A technique for the real world. Invited lecture at the 5th International Conference and Exhibition on Analytical & Bioanalytical Techniques. Beijing, China 18-20 August 2014 

Tanna S and Lawson G. Cardiovascular drug medication compliance assessed by dried blood spot sampling techniques.  Invited lecture at the 4th International Conference and Exhibition on Analytical Techniques. Las Vegas, USA 15-17 October 2013

Lawson G, Armitage R, Alhedethe A and Tanna S. Rapid identification of counterfeit pills by ATR FT/IR analysis of crushed samples. Invited lecture at the 4th International Conference and Exhibition on Analytical Techniques. Las Vegas, USA 15-17 

Tanna S and Lawson G.  Blood Spot Analysis – Paediatrics to Pensioners. Invited public lecture at the Festival of Ideas, ÐßÐßÊÓƵ, Leicester UK, 23 April 2013

Lawson G, Armitage R, Tanna S.  Identification of Counterfeit Drugs. Invited public lecture at the Cafe Scientifique event, Nanjing, China, November 2012 

Tanna S and Lawson G.  Dried Blood Spot (DBS) Analysis for Healthcare Applications. Invited public lecture at the Cafe Scientific event, Nanjing, China, November 2012

Lawson G, Armitage R, Tanna S. Identification of counterfeit medicines. 7th Annual Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting Meeting. 2012, Visiongain Conference Centre, Barbican, London, UK. 26-27 June 2012.

Lawson G, Armitage R, Tanna S.  Identification of counterfeit medicines. Conference on International Biology and Medicine Innovative Industrialization (IBMII). Chongqing Convention Centre, Chongqing, China, April 2012.

Tanna S. and Lawson G. Dried blood spot (DBS) analysis for healthcare applicationsConference of International Biology and Medicine Innovative Industrialization (IBMII). Chongqing Convention Centre, Chongqing, China, April 2012

Lawson G, Ross G, Sage A, Mulla H, Pandya H and Tanna S.  Potential of the QToF in Paediatric Biomarking. Invited Lecture. 1st International Pediatric Biomarker Symposium. Congress Park, Igls Austria. 4-6 Feb 2010

Invited Poster Presentations

Tanna S, Patel P, Mulla H and Lawson G. Dried blood spot analysis – a comparison of SIM, MSMS and accurate mass TOF analyses for selected drugs. 27th LC-MS Montreux Symposium, Montreux, Switzerland, 10-12 November 2010

Tanna S, Pandya H, Mulla H, Titman C, and Lawson G. Analysis of dried blood spots – the potential for paediatric pharmacokinetic studies of captopril. RSC Analytical Research Forum. Loughborough University. 26-28 July 2010

Lawson G, Mulla H, Ross G, Sage A and Tanna S. Accurate mass versus tandem mass measurement of paediatric biomarkers. RSC Analytical Research Forum. Loughborough University. 26-28 July 2010

Tanna S, Pandya H, Mulla H, Titman C, and Lawson G.  Analysis of dried blood spots – the potential for paediatric pharmacokinetic studies of captopril. 1st International Pediatric Biomarker Symposium. Congresspark. Igls, Austria. 4-6 Feb 2010.

Poster Presentations

Toroitich AM, Armitage R, Tanna S. Unveiling the threat of poor-quality medicines in Kenya from individual case safety reports recorded in Kenya’s Pharmacovigilance Electronic Reporting System. American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) 2023 Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois, United States. 18-22 October 2023. 

Shokrzadeh Madieh N, Alqurayn NA, Tanna S, Vaideanu A, Schatzlein A, Singh H, Brucoli F. Aminobenzofuran-containing analogues of proximicins B and C exhibit higher antiproliferative activity against glioblastoma cells compared to temozolomide in in vitro cellular assays. 30th Annual GP2A Conference, Dublin, Ireland. 24th-26th August 2022.

Shokrzadeh Madieh N, Alqurayn NA, Tanna S, Vaideanu A, Schatzlein A, Singh H, Brucoli F. Amino-benzofuran analogues of proximicins B and C possess higher cytotoxicity against glioblastoma compared to temozolomide in an in vitro cell-based assay. Joint Meeting of the British Pharmacological Society Group (ELRIG.UK), London, UK. 4th-5th July 2022.

Alalaqi A, Lawson G, Obaid Y, Tanna S. Assessment on non-adherence to cardiovascular medications and understanding patients' perspective: A quantitative and qualitative study. The JPAG Pharmaceutical Analysis Research Awards 2021. Virtual meeting. 17th November 2021.

Robinson-Burke T, Tanna S, Hind J, Fretwell L, Williams R, Sutton C, Dunford, L. (2019) Attitudes to weight management in the South Asian population. Obesity Surgery, 29, pp. S27-S28.

Alalaqi A, Lawson G, Obaid Y, Tanna S. Assessment on non-adherence to cardiovascular medications in Iraq by 8-items Morisky questionnaire and dried blood spot samples analysis. APS@FIP Conference, Glasgow, UK. 7th September 2018.

Tanna S, Alalaqi A, Bernieh D, Obaid Y, Lawson G. Blood spot micro-samples analysed by LC-HRMS to monitor cardiovascular drug levels in patient samples from Iraq. 10th Medical Conference of Misan Health Directorate, Misan, Iraq. 5-7 December 2017.

Tanna S, Bernieh D, Alalaqi A, Lawson G. Cardiovascular drug monitoring using quantitative LC-HRMS analysis of self-collected micro-volume blood samples. 15th International Congress of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring & Clinical Toxicology 2017, Kyoto, Japan. 24-27 September 2017.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. Comparison of VAMS and card based microsampling with LC-HRMS analysis to assess cardiovascular drug levels. Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL) EU 2017. Salzburg, Austria. 10-14 September 2017.

Armitage R, Lawson G, Tanna S. Counterfeit or just poor quality control? APS 8th International PharmSci Conference. Hatfield, UK. 5-8 September 2017.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. Performance of two different microsamplers for the LC-HRMS analysis of 11 cardiovascular drugs. The Reid Bioanalytical Forum. Cambridge, UK. 5-7 September 2017.

Tanna S, Alalaqi A, Bernieh D, Lawson G. LC-HRMS analysis of 133 patient micro-volume blood samples to allow clinical assessment of medication adherence. Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL) 2017. Palm Springs, USA. 22-26 January 2017.

Lawson G, Bernieh D, Tanna S. Quantitative LC-HRMS analysis of dried blood spots to assess adherence to cardiovascular pharmacotherapy. Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL) 2017. Palm Springs, USA. 22-26 January 2017.

Tanna S, Bernieh D, Lawson G. Adherence to cardiovascular pharmacotherapy assessed by quantitative LC-HRMS analysis of dried blood spots. Advances in Clinical Analysis 2016, London, UK. 30 November 2016.

Tanna S, Bernieh D, Lawson G. Adherence to cardiovascular pharmacotherapy assessed by quantitative LC-HRMS analysis of dried blood spots. 21st International Mass Spectrometry Conference. Toronto, Canada. 20-26 August 2016.

Lawson G, Ogwu J, Armitage R, Alcroft C, Tanna S. Fast identification of counterfeit medicines – a comparison of two MS methods. 21st International Mass Spectrometry Conference. Toronto, Canada. 20-26 August 2016.

Tanna S, Bernieh D, Lawson G. Assessment of adherence to cardiovascular pharmacotherapy using quantitative dried blood spot analysis. Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL) 2015. Salzburg, Austria. 8-11 September 2015.

Lawson G and Tanna S. Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry used for the analysis of dried blood spot samples in therapeutic drug monitoring. Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL) 2015. Salzburg, Austria. 8-11 September 2015.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. Development of an evidence based assessment of medication adherence for heart disease patients. APS 7th International PharmSci Conference. Glasgow, UK. 5-7 September 2016.

Ogwu J, Lawson G, Tanna S. Counterfeit medicines: Rapid quantification of active pharmaceutical ingredients in tablet formulations. APS 7th International PharmSci Conference. Glasgow, UK. 5-7 September 2016.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. It’s in a drop of blood – or is it? SET for BRITAIN Poster Presentations by Britain’s Top Younger Scientists, Engineers and Technologists at the House of Commons, Westminster, London, UK. 7 March 2016.

Tanna S, Bernieh D, Lawson G.  Assessment of adherence to cardiovascular pharmacotherapy using quantitative dried blood spot analysis. Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL) 2015. Salzburg, Austria. 8-11 September 2015.

Lawson G and Tanna S. Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry used for the analysis of dried blood spot samples in therapeutic drug monitoring. Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL) EU 2015. Salzburg, Austria. 8-11 September 2015.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. Quantitative LC-ToF MS analyses of dried blood spots: Developing an assessment of medication adherence for heart disease patients. The Reid Bioanalytical Forum. Surrey, UK. September 2015.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S. Quantitative dried blood spot analyses: An aid to medicine optimization for heart disease patients? The 6th International Conference and Exhibition on Analytical & Bioanalytical Techniques. Valencia, Spain. August 2015.

Ogwu J, Lawson G, Armitage R, Tanna S. Rapid instrumental detection and quantification of counterfeit pharmaceutical tablet formulations: is ATR-FTIR an option? The 6th International Conference and Exhibition on Analytical & Bioanalytical Techniques. Valencia, Spain. August 2015.

Bernieh D, Lawson G, Tanna S.Can quantitative dried blood spot analyses be an aid to medicine optimization in cardiovascular diseases? The Analytical Research Forum 2015. London, UK. 3rd July 2015.

Ogwu J, Lawson G, Armitage R, Tanna S.  ATR-FTIR for rapid detection and quantification of counterfeit medicines. The Analytical Research Forum 2015. London, UK.  3rd July 2015.

Ogwu J, Lawson G, Tanna S.  Rapid instrumental detection of counterfeit medicines – how feasible is it? The Forensic Institute Research Network (FIRN) conference. Derby, UK. April 24 2015.

Lawson G, Alcroft C, Baker A, Tanna S. Analysis of unknown powders and tablets using an atmospheric solids analysis probe and a compact mass spectrometer. The Forensic Institute Research Network (FIRN) conference. Derby, UK. April 24 2015.

Tanna S and Lawson G. Adherence to cardiovascular medications assessed using quantitative dried blood spot analysis. Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis and the 10th International Symposium on Drug Analysis. Liege, Belgium. June 22-25 2014.

Lawson G, Turay E, Armitage R, Tanna S. Rapid identification of counterfeit medicines by ATR FT/IR. Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis and the 10th International Symposium on Drug Analysis. Liege, Belgium. June 22-25 2014.

Tanna S, Armitage R, Lawson G. Identification of counterfeit pills - Is rapid instrumental analysis possible? Proceedings of The 24th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. Bologna, Italy. 30 June-3 July 2013.

Lawson G, Cocks E, Tanna S. Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry applied to therapeutic drug monitoring using DBS sampling. Proceedings of The 24th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. Bologna, Italy. 30 June-3 July 2013.

Tanna S, Cocks E, Lawson G. Is the patient taking their 'heart' pills? A dried blood spot sample - LC-HRMS assay. Proceedings of The 24th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. Bologna, Italy. 30 June-3 July 2013.

Tanna S, Patel P, Mulla H, Lawson G. Dried blood spot analysis to improve paediatric medication. Separation Science Asia. Singapore. 27-28 July 2011.

Lawson G, Cocks E. Tanna S.  High resolution mass spectrometry for quantitative analysis of dried blood spots. Separation Science Asia. Singapore, 27-28 July 2011.

Patel P, Pandya H, Spooner N, Della Pasque O, Gade S, Kairamknoda V, Lawson G, Tanna S, Mulla H. Dried blood spots and sparse sampling: A perfect combination for minimally invasive PK/PD studies in children. Population Approach Group Europe (PAGE) Meeting, Athens, Greece, June 2011.

Tanna S, Cocks E, Lawson G.  High resolution mass spectrometry for analysis of selected drugs in dried blood spots. 59th Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics ASMS Meeting, Denver, Colorado, USA 5 – 9 June 2011.

Lawson G, Mulla H, Patel P, Tanna S. Examples of dried blood spot sampling and analysis to improve paediatric medicine. 59th Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics. ASMS Meeting, Denver, Colorado, USA 5-9 June 2011.

Patel P, Lawson G, Tanna S, Mulla H. Facilitating paediatric PK studies: utility of the dried blood spot. Pharmacokinetics UK Conference, Birmingham UK, November 2009. 

Patel P, Lawson G, Mulla H, Tanna S. Applying dried blood spot analysis: the pathway to better paediatric care. Science @ BPC2009 Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Manchester Central, UK September 7-9 2009.

Lawson G, Pandya H, Mulla H, Tanna S. The use of blood spot analysis in paediatric care - From laboratory to bedside and back again. Science @ BPC2009 Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Manchester Central, UK. September 7-9 2009.

Lawson G, Coffey J, Titman C, Tanna S.  Dried blood spot analyses by Ion Trap – Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry, the potential for improved child care? 18th International Mass Spectrometry Conference, PWA 427, Bremen, Germany Aug 30 – Sept 4 2009.

Lawson G, Patel, P, Tanna S.  The use of dried blood spot analysis in paediatric care – how mass spectrometry can direct child medication. 18th International Mass Spectrometry Conference, PMM 468, Bremen, Germany Aug 30 – Sept 4 2009.

Tanna S, Lawson G Mulla H, Pandya H From laboratory to bedside and back again – The use of blood spot analysis in paediatric care. ACCP/ESCP International Congress on Clinical Pharmacy. Orange County Convention Centre, Orlando, Fl. USA. April 24 -28th.2009.

Tanna S, Sahota, TS, Sawicka K, Taylor MJ. UV polymerised dextran-concanavalin A acrylic derivatised gels for closed-loop insulin delivery. The 33rd International Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Controlled Release Society, Vienna, Austria, July 2006.

Sawicka K, Sahota TS, Taylor MJ, Tanna S. Development and application of a reversed-phase HPLC method for the analysis of components from a closed-loop insulin delivery system. The 33rd International Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Controlled Release Society, Vienna, Austria, July 2006.

Tanna S, Taylor MJ, Sahota TS. Novel glucose-sensitive gels for self-regulated insulin delivery. SET for BRITAIN Poster Presentations by Britain’s Top Younger Scientists, Engineers and Technologists at the House of Commons, Westminster, London, March 2003.

Tanna S, Sahota T, Clark J, Taylor MJ.   Rheological characterisation and insulin delivery of a novel glucose-sensitive gel with a carbomer carrier. Proceed. Intern. Symp. Control. Rel. Bioact. Mater. 28: 327-328. The 28th International Symposium on Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, San Diego, California, USA, June 2001.

Clark J, Taylor MJ, Sahota TS, Tanna S.  Development of an “in-vivo” model for demonstrating the action of a responsive gel membrane to changes in blood glucose concentrations. Proceed. Intern. Symp. Control. Rel. Bioact. Mater. 28: 307-308. The 28th International Symposium on Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, San Diego, California, USA, June 2001.

Tanna S and Taylor MJ.  Insulin delivery governed by lectin-glycogen gels sensitive to glucose. Proceed. Intern. Symp. Control. Rel. Bioact. Mater. 1998; 25: 737.

Tanna S and Taylor MJ.  Glucose-responsive gels based on dextran covalently coupled with lectin to control insulin delivery. J Pharm. Pharmac., 1997; 49 Suppl. 4: 76.

Taylor MJ Tanna S, Adams G. Insulin delivery using a novel glucose sensitive formulation. Proceed. Intern. Symp. Control. Rel. Bioact. Mater. 1995; 22.

Taylor MJ, Tanna S, Cockshot S,  Vaitha R. A novel self-regulated delivery system using unmodified solutes in glucose sensitive gel membranes. Proceed. Third European Symp. Control. Drug Delivery, The Netherlands. 1994; (240-5).

Current research students

Enquiries from prospective PhD students are welcomed.

Case studies

1. REF2021 Impact Case Study: A single-drop blood test to identify non-adherence to cardiovascular medication, change care delivery and optimise treatment plans

Sangeeta Tanna's research group have developed the first non-invasive, single-drop blood test for assessing nonadherence to prescribed cardiovascular medicines. This has been used in clinical practice by hospitals in Kenya (Kenyatta National Hospital and Aga Khan University Hospital) and Iraq (Al Sader Teaching Hospital and Misan Cardiac Centre), resulting in the following impact:

  • Improved healthcare plans and optimised treatment for heart disease patients who were found to be non-adherent to their prescribed medication.
  • Improved clinical outcomes through better control of blood pressure, resulting in reductions in emergency hospital admissions and significantly lowered risks of cardiovascular events.
  • Enhanced adherence to prescribed medicines through positive changes in patients’ behaviour.
  • Changes to clinical practice by embedding pharmacists and hospital social workers within the clinical teams that plan and deliver patient care.
  • Identification of the high risk of poor-quality or counterfeit/substandard medicines circulating within the Kenyan healthcare system, prompting a submission to an ongoing national-level review of medicines safety. 

 

2. The blood spot analysis research and its potential impact on improving healthcare received extensive media coverage during a British Council sponsored visit to Chongqing, China in April 2012. It was widely covered by 20 national and local media, including CCTV, Chongqing TV, Xinhua News Agency, Guang Ming Daily People’s Daily, HongKong Wenhui Po, people.com.cn, CQ. etc. The link below is Chongqing TV’s coverage of the event at its satellite news programme.

 

3. In September 2011 the pioneering use of dried blood spot methods to monitor prescription compliance among patients taking cardiovascular medications was the subject of local and national media coverage. This included television coverage on BBC national and local news in addition to a live BBC Radio Leicester interview. It was featured on the BBC news website at:

ORCiD

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5246-3603

sangeeta-tanna