My research focuses on the human phase II metabolism of etamivan, a respiratory stimulant included on the WADA Prohibited List. After undergoing biotransformation, etamivan is excreted primarily as a sulfate conjugate, catalyzed by sulfotransferases (SULTs). The goal of my project is to identify the specific SULT isoform(s) involved in this process and to optimize the biotransformation conditions to increase metabolic conversion efficiency.

To achieve this, I work with genetically modified Schizosaccharomyces pombe strains expressing individual human SULT enzymes. A Design of Experiments (DoE) approach is applied to systematically optimize key parameters of the biotransformation process. Analytical work is carried out using HPLC-QTOF-MS, focusing on validation and method development.