Olga Narducci's Webpage
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Postgraduate Researcher Phone: +44 (0)20 7679 3806 Email: o.narducci@ucl.ac.uk |
Address: Department of Chemical Engineering University College London Torrington Place London WC1E 7JE United Kingdom |
Olga Narducci received her MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University "Federico II" of Naples in 2006. She specialised in fluidized bed reactors for the characterization of solid fuel devolatilization. In November 2007 she joined the UCL Department of Chemical Engineering to work on a PhD project studying crystallization in collaboration with Pfizer.
Research project
Title: A systematic study for development of a crystallization process coupled with ultrasonic technology
Supervisors: Professor Alan Jones
Continuous crystallization is an attractive method for large-scale preparation of crystalline materials. The pharmaceutical industry traditionally uses batch processing but is looking towards continuous technology to improve their economic performance. Whilst batch
processing is usually adequate to meet regulatory constraints around robustness
and product quality, it is not the most efficient in terms of consistently attaining the desired physical properties such as particle size and
shape and consequent bioavailability. Increasingly complex drug products and delivery systems require a
higher degree of API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) consistency and challenging particle size and shape targets. Thus, there has also been
a recent move to continuous processing because of the improved controllability offered by continuous processing compared to batch. Furthermore, in recent years interest in the application of ultrasound
to crystallization has received a significant impetus as a means of
dealing with the increased requirement to prepare complex organic chemical entities to very exacting standards.
The objective of this project consists firstly of an experimental investigation into continuous and batch crystallization of adipic acid from aqueous solution. Process Analytical Technology (PAT) including on-line conductivity and off-line Malvern MasterSizer measurements are used to monitor supersaturation, particle size and steady state operation. The study investigates the ultrasonic effect on the achievement of steady state, yield particle size distribution (PSD) and crystal habit. The ultrasonic effects on product characteristics are then integrated in the particle engineering of adipic acid crystals involving other crystallization control techniques, such as seeding in batch operations, and of dry and wet milling techniques, including hammer milling and High Shear Wet Milling (HSWM), which are commonly used in the phararmaceutical industry.
Page last modified on 15 sep 11 09:44
