EPSRC CDT in Complex Particulate Products & Processes (CP3)

The CP3 CDT offers a 4 year, fully funded, integrated MSc and PhD programme in complex particulate products & processes. We are currently recruiting science and engineering graduates for the following PhD projects, starting with the CDT in September 2018 (based in the School of Chemical & Process Engineering at the University of Leeds).

More information about the CP3 CDT can be found here.

University Research Postgraduate Application Forms can be found here.

Entry requirements

A degree equivalent to a UK upper second class honours (2:1), or higher, or a Master’s degree (Distinction) in a relevant engineering or science discipline.

Eligibility

Students who are from the UK or UK Home Rated for their fee status are normally eligible for the full funding award (we are not currently in a position to award funding to international fee rated applicants). The full award includes full fees grant paid directly to the University for four years and a maintenance grant paid monthly to students to cover living expenses.

We welcome scholarship applications from all suitably-qualified candidates, but UK black and minority ethnic (BME) researchers are currently under-represented in our Postgraduate Research community, and we would therefore particularly encourage applications from UK BME candidates. All scholarships will be awarded on the basis of merit

Further information

For informal enquiries please email CP3-CDT@leeds.ac.uk or call +44 (0)113 343 4154

The application deadline for these PhD projects is 09:00 Tuesday 12 June 2018.

1) Understanding, control and design of freeze drying processes for pharmaceutical and food application

Supervisor at Leeds: Dr Elena Simone, Food Science & Nutrition

Freeze drying (lyophilisation) is an important liquid-solid separation technique that consists of freezing a solution and then removing the solvent via its sublimation. It is particularly suitable for biological samples and biopharmaceuticals (e.g. therapeutic proteins) since it conducted at low temperatures that prevent molecular product degradation. Lyophilized biomolecules are more stable than their aqueous solutions and, therefore, they can be stored for longer times. This process is also used for several food products (e.g. fruits, coffee) for their longer preservation.

Lyophilisation is a very complex processe that is currently performed mainly at small scales because of the difficulty to both monitor and scale up. The aim of this project is to obtain a deep understanding of freezing processes for lyophilization for pharmaceuticals and bio-therapeutics, by analyzing the effect of different operating conditions and formulations on the quality of the final product in terms of crystallinity, stability, purity and mechanical properties.

This project will involve the use of several analytical techniques (e.g., polarized hot stage microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, cryo-SEM and DSC, acoustic attenuation measurement, x-ray scattering and solid state NMR) for the study of nucleation and growth phenomena during freezing processes and for the determination of the crystalline structure of the final dried powders.

2) Micro mechanical properties of organic crystals

Supervisor at Leeds: Dr Simon Connell, Physics

Micro mechanical properties of organic materials, such as materials used in medicines, underpin processing and the final product performance. For instance during filtration or powder compaction during tabletting crystals are subjected to significant forces and breakage occurs which can lead to significant processing issues and changes in drug performance. The development of theoretical frameworks for these impacts are hindered by a lack of fundamental understanding of the mechanical properties at the scale of a single crystal.

You will develop AFM based techniques for assessing single crystal mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus/elasticity, deformation and crystal strength. This will involve working on the design of equipment to present crystals to the AFM, statistical analysis of the results, and modelling to demonstrate the effect of mechanical properties on processing.

Through model compounds and industrial material cases studies you will correlate the effect of processing to the mechanical properties measured (e.g on compaction). It is envisaged that a 3-6 month will be spend working within industry on their materials. This project is of high interest to the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industrial sectors.

3) 3D Particle Imaging in Mixed Solid/Liquid Phase System during Processing

Supervisor at Leeds: Dr CaiYun Ma, Chemical and Process Engineering

The purpose of this project is to further develop a 3D scanning imaging system and its image analysis algorithms for accurately real-time measuring the evolution of particle shape and size during crystallisation processes. The system will have the abilities to directly generate crystal shape information via the advanced image analysis algorithms for development of face-based kinetic models which form the critical inputs of the MPB models. Although many attempts were (are being) made to achieve this, the ability of performing accurate online measurement of particle shape/size during processes is still not available. The techniques to be developed in this project will provide a practically useful system for monitoring and control of not only crystallisation processes but also other processes involved in particle shape/size evolution such as washing/filtration, drying, milling, blending, granulation etc.

4) DEM modelling framework for the processing faceted particles incorporating the detailed chemistry of their interfacial interactions

Supervisor at Leeds: Dr Xiaodong Jia, Chemical and Process Engineering

The proposed project is to develop an improved, accurate first-principle DEM (Discrete Element Method) approach under the DigiDEM framework, which is able to model the facet interactions of particle/particle and particle/solution at their interfaces. A DEM which can distinguish faces (and their properties) of a single crystal has yet to be developed. The model will have the ability of assigning different surface chemistry/properties associated with different faces of particles for the interfacial interaction prediction. This will directly affect all of the pharmaceutical processes including crystallisation, washing/filtration, drying, milling, blending, granulation, compaction and tableting etc in terms of the accurate prediction, optimisation and control their production, hence achieving precision manufacture of drugs for personalised medicinal deliveries.