Background:

Crystallization is one of the most important unit operations in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a solid form. It defines product properties like purity, crystalline structure, crystal size and the crystal size distribution, which is especially important for further downstream operations like filtration and formulation of pharmaceuticals. Because of lower production volumes in the pharmaceutical industry compared to industrial inorganic salt production, the development of continuous processes for the production of certain APIs was not profitable in the pharmaceutical industry in the last decades.

Nevertheless, companies are now investing into the development of continuous processes for synthesis and also crystallization, since a constant quality can be ensured and no service time in between production batches is necessary. Therefore, crystallizers and crystallization processes for continuous applications have to be developed.

The aim of this master thesis is to design and characterize a continuous crystallizer by exploiting recent advances that have been accomplished in the field of additive manufacturing (3D-printing). Based on the working principle of an OSLO-type crystallizer, this technique will facilitate realizing a modular setup. Thereby, rapid replacement of parts of the reactor is feasible, allowing to analyze their influence on the overall behavior. This strategy aims to provide previously unattainable insights into the behavior of continuous crystallizers. The main challenge of the thesis will be the characterization of the current crystallizer using simple model systems. In a possible second step, alternative designs should be evaluated and produced, using additive manufacturing, to optimize the overall performance of the crystallizer.

Figure 1: Current Design of the OSLO type crystallizer.

Tasks:

• Literature study on crystallization / especially continuous crystallization
• Simple crystallization experiments and evaluation of the results (Particle size distribution, concentration measurements [HPLC, optical methods], Residence time distribution measurements)
• CAD drawing and 3D printing

Requirements:

• Background in chemical engineering, chemistry or related studies
• Interest in the above mentioned fields
• Basic lab work experience
• NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE in CAD or 3D printing required
• Good work ethic

What we offer:

• Integration in a research project supported by an industrial partner
• Support from the CoSy Pro Team
• Paid Thesis
• Experience in an upcoming field of greatest importance
• Start: As soon as possible.

Contact:

Dipl.-Ing. Nys Nico, BSc
nico.nysnoSpam@tugraz.at - Tel.: +4331687330438

Assoc. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Heidrun Gruber-Wölfler 
woelflernoSpam@tugraz.at

Background
Polymers are used in the electrical industry to insulate devices. Especially in corrosive atmospheres the investigation of the degradation of these polymers and the protected devices is of vital importance to increase their longevity. One main influence is the diffusion of corrosive substances through the protective layer of a device. In recent years as computational power became cheaper, using molecular dynamics simulations to quantify transport properties of polymers became more commonly used.

In this thesis molecular dynamics (MD) simulations should be used to quantify the transport processes of different penetrator molecules in polymers. Investigations regarding the polymer’s chain-length, the degree of cross-linking, as well as the charge of the penetrator molecules under different environmental conditions should be conducted.

Tasks

• Running and analyzing molecular dynamics simulations of polymers
• Investigation of physical properties of polymers

Requirements

• Solid background in chemical engineering
• Knowledge of Matlab or Python
• Enthusiasm to work with theories, software, and computer algorithms
• Interest and enthusiasm for performing simulation on supercomputers

Work on the thesis is paid (6 months), and we offer office space, computers, simulation software and expertise, as well as integration to a highly-relevant research project

Contact
Dr. Stefan Radl (radlnoSpam@tugraz.at; 0680 12 22 168)
Dipl.-Ing. Philipp Mayr, BSc. (philipp.mayrnoSpam@tugraz.at)

Background

The Institute of Process and Particle Engineering is a world leader in the development of pharmaceutical products and processes.

In this context, we are offering a paid master thesis where the student is employed at an external company.

The goal of the master thesis is to create the basis for product development, focusing on a novel drug delivery system where the medicine is contained in a flavored gel, either as solution, emulsion or suspension. Drug delivery occurs via breaking a seal of a snap-package and sucking out the flavored gel. Target patient populations includes:

• Geriatric patients (frail & old patients)
• Pediatric patients (kids)
• Emergency applications

Tasks

• Literature study on competitor products and patent situation
• List of the 20-30 most important medicines for the three target populations and corresponding biopharmaceutical classification
• Research on formulation strategies (solutions, emulsions, suspension) with sufficient stability
• Selection of 3 model APIs (different categories) and formulation of the gels
• Stability testing under stress conditions

Requirements

• Background in pharmaceutical sciences, pharmaceutical engineering or medicines
• Student in pharmacy, pharmaceutical engineering, chemical engineering or related

What we offer:

• Integration in an internationally leading team
• Opportunity to be part of a commercialization project
• Paid thesis

Start: Spring 2021

Contact: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Johannes Khinast, khinastnoSpam@tugraz.at