Medway school of pharmacy

Taravat received her Pharm.D. (Pharmacy Doctorate) from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 1992 and PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (QSAR) from Liverpool John Moores University in 1996. She held lectureship and senior lectureship positions at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and postdoctoral researcher position at Liverpool John Moores University before taking up her post at Medway School of Pharmacy in September 2005. Taravat is course coordinator of Medicines Design and Manufacture 3 (MP3) within the MPharm Programme.

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Her primary research interest lies in the area of QSAR, molecular modelling and drug design. Development of predictive techniques through QSAR employs computational and statistical approaches to rationalise variations in the property of a series of chemicals with variations in their molecular structure. Dr Ghafourian’s current projects and interests in this field are

• Estimation of drug solubility: Not only that suitable aqueous solubility is required for successful formulation of drugs, it is a prerequisite to the drug absorption. The ongoing project deals with the estimation of aqueous solubility and characterisation of the effect of co-solvents.
• In silico predition of ADME properties: A significant number of compounds fail in drug development studies because of poor Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME), and toxicity. Computational techniques (QSAR) can be used to estimate and screen out the likely failures at a much earlier stage of drug development. The current projects involve development and validation of models for the estimation of apparent volume of distribution, intestinal absorption and cytochrome P450 substrates.
• Skin permeability and penetration enhancers are other major areas of interest. Rationalisation of the effect of formulation factors on the skin permeability is the subject of interest both to formulation scientists and environmental toxicologists. At Medway School of Pharmacy, research is focused on the effects of formulation ingredients such as surfactants, terpenes and other chemical enhancers on the skin penetration of drugs.

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• Gafourian T, Safari A, Adibkia K, Parviz F,Nokhodchi A (2007). Drug Release Study From Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) Matrices Using QSPR Modeling. J Pharm Sci 96:  In Press (DOI 10.1002/jps.20990).
• Dastmalchi, S, Hamzeh-Mivehroud M, Ghafourian T (2007). Molecular modelling of histamine H3 receptor and QSAR studies on arylbenzofuran derived H3 antagonists. Journal of Molecular Graphics, In Press
• Nokhodchi A, Sharabiani K, Rashidi MR, Ghaourian T (2007). The effect of terpene concentrations on the skin penetration of diclofenac sodium. Int J Pharm 335: 97-105
• Ghafourian T, Barzegar-Jalali M, Dastmalchi S, Khavari-Khorasani T, Hakimiha N, Nokhodchi A (2006). QSPR models for the prediction of apparent volume of distribution. Int J Pharm 319: 82–97
• Ghafourian T, Cronin, TDM (2006). The effect of variable selection on nonlinear modelling of oestrogen receptor binding. QSAR & Combinatorial Chemistry 25: 824 - 835
• Ghafourian T, Cronin, TDM (2005). The impact of variable selection on the modelling of oestrogenicity. SAR QSAR Environ Sci 16: 171-190
• Ghafourian T, Zand-Asrar P, Hamishekar, H, Nokhodchi, A (2004). The effect of penetration enhancers on drug delivery through skin: A QSAR study. Journal of Controlled release. 99: 113-125
• Ghafourian T, Cronin, TDM (2004). Comparison of Electrotopological-State Indices Versus Atomic Charge and Superdelocalisability Indices in a QSAR Study of Receptor Binding Properties of Halogenated Estradiol Derivatives. Molecular Diversity 8: 343-355
• Abraham MH, Hassanisadi M, Jalali-Heravi M, Ghafourian T, Cain WS, Cometto-Muniz E (2003). Draize rabbit eye test compatibility with eye irritation thresholds in humans: A quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis. Toxicol Sci 76: 384-391
• Ghafourian T, and Rashidi MR (2001). Quantitative study of structural requirements of phthalazine/quinazoline derivatives for interaction with human liver aldehyde oxidase. Chem Pharm Bull 49: 1066-1071

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