Since the transporters can have a significant impact on drug pharmacokinetics, it is of interest to identify their substrates at an early stage of drug development. It is also important to identify transporter inhibitors as they can lead to drug-drug interactions that affect the safety and efficacy of victim drugs.
The main research areas of the transporter group are transporter pharmacogenetics and the molecular basis of substrate and inhibitor interaction.
Genetic variation in drug transporters can lead to inter-individual differences in the pharmacokinetics of their substrate drugs. We study the activity and expression of the variant transporters in vitro in order to evaluate the effect of the variant on drug transport in vivo.
The molecular basis of substrate and inhibitor binding in drug transporters is still unclear. We study the interaction of substrates and inhibitors both in silico and in vitro in order to understand how the transporters recognize their ligands. We also develop in vitro and in silico tools to study and predict these interactions.