Funding
Funded
Innovative technologies for sustainable production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering | PHD
Applications are now CLOSED
Reference Number
SCCE-2023-002
Application Deadline
24 February 2023
Start Date
2 October 2023
Overview
Pharmaceutical production is a complex process, which involves multiple chemical steps to produce the final product. Each step is different and involves a wide range of reagents and conditions. However, what is typical is that most of the steps generate substantial quantities of waste, particularly organic solvents. Such solvents represent the largest volume of pharmaceutical manufacturing waste, thus devising strategies to reduce the use, or effectively recover and reuse, solvents will have a significant impact on the sustainability of API manufacturing processes. Solvents themselves can be expensive and recovery and recycling using traditional methods (e.g. distillation) is very energy intensive. One aspect this project will focus on is the use of materials to assist in the separation of solvent mixtures and remove or substantially reduce the need for distillations. Novel materials can also be studied for another important separation challenge: the removal and isolation of metals. Expensive and rare precious metals are often used in the production of pharmaceuticals as catalysts, and these need to be removed from the pharmaceutical ingredients before final formulation and distribution. Developing more effective and sustainable approaches to recovery and recycling of these metals will enable a circular economy approach to be used for these diminishing resources.
This project will investigate approaches that will make the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) more sustainable. This is a collaborative project between Queen’s and Eli Lilly, a globally leading biopharmaceutical company who have been manufacturing pharmaceuticals in Ireland for over 40 years.
The successful candidate will join the academic team at Queen’s to conduct their research on this project within the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Apart from access to the state-of-the-art facilities of the School, and the training courses offered by the world class Queen’s Graduate School, the student will avail of the opportunity to spend up to nine months on an industrial placement in the laboratories of Eli Lilly in Kinsale (Cork), experiencing an industry-based work culture and further developing their professional skills. The project will be co-supervised by Dr Leila Moura and Dr Mark Muldoon
Funding Information
The studentship is jointly funded by industry and DfE and is open to UK and ROI nationals (with residency conditions), or EU nationals that have obtained settled status in the UK. Full eligibility and stipend information can be viewed via: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/department-economy-postgraduate-studentship-scheme
Project Summary
Supervisor
Professor Panagiotis Manesiotis
Mode of Study
Full-time: 3 years
Funding Body
DfE CAST Award