Stefan Stürup

Stefan Stürup is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on advanced analytical chemistry applications for drug product characterization and identification of falsified/substandard pharmaceuticals.

His primary research interests include:

• Application of isotope ratio analysis ($$\delta^{13}\text{C}$$, $$\delta^{2}\text{H}$$, $$\delta^{18}\text{O}$$, $$^{87}\text{Sr}/^{86}\text{Sr}$$, $$^{207}\text{Pb}/^{206}\text{Pb}$$) for drug characterization
• Trace element pattern analysis in pharmaceutical products
• ICP-MS/ICP-OES based instrumentation for trace elemental impurity determination
• Uptake and biotransformation of metal-based drugs
• Development of novel drug delivery vehicles including nanoparticles and metal complexes

His recent research has focused on analyzing ibuprofen drug products, investigating isotopic patterns, trace elements, and impurities to ensure pharmaceutical quality and detect falsified products. He has also conducted significant research on metal-based drugs including platinum compounds and gold(I) complexes, examining their cellular distribution, toxicity mechanisms, and potential therapeutic applications.

Dr. Stürup has supervised 7 PhD students and 34 master students, with recent projects focusing on isotope ratio analysis in pharmaceuticals and analytical method development. He teaches Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry and Kemiske Principper (Chemical Principles) at the bachelor's level.

His professional activities include membership in COST actions focused on metal complexes and metallo-drug design, serving as a technical assessor for the Danish Accreditation and Metrology Fund (DANAK), and reviewing for 15 analytical chemistry journals since 1995. His work bridges analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, and toxicology with practical applications for drug quality control and therapeutic development.