Pharmaceutical Engineering
Research in the Pharmaceutical Engineering Group addresses the emerging problems of pharmaceutical production with special emphasis on the purification, formulation and administration of active pharmaceutical products, as well as the development of novel healthcare engineering approaches.
The overall objective of this cross-disciplinary activity is to be an internationally competitive research group in the exploitation of pharmaceutical engineering technologies. The Group’s intention is to facilitate a significant step change in current pharmaceutical production, by providing improved technologies, product design and control methodologies. The aim of these developments is to provide significant economic benefits by reducing time-to-market and increasing product quality, leading to improved quality of life.
The Group collaborates closely with pharmaceutical companies, research centres and universities in the UK and worldwide. Equipment available includes state-of-the-art process analytical tools for in-situ process monitoring, computer controlled and pilot scale reaction and crystallisation modules, pilot scale downstream processing units (mills and granulator), as well as a series of FDA approved pharmaceutical product characterisation equipment.
Current areas of interest
- Development of drug delivery devices in skin and intervertebral disc
- Controlled release PLGA based biopolymer particles
- Population balance and CFD modelling of pharmaceutical crystallizers, bioreactors, and downstream process units
- Crystallisation Systems Engineering
- Experimental measurements of flow and turbulence in chemical reaction vessels
- Process analytical and quality-by-design technologies
- Pharmaceutical process control
- Preparation of high yielding process routes for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals
- Production of pharmaceutical powders for pulmonary delivery by spray freeze drying
- Production of drug delivery systems based on multiple emulsions, and other biocompatible micro- and nano-particles