About Me
Born in Graz, Austria, after my A-levels I decided to enrol for the study of chemistry at the local technical university TU Graz. I received my Bachelor’s degree in 2011 and continued my studies in the fields of pharmaceutical engineering as well as biotechnology in which I graduated 2013. In the following I was offered a PhD position as a project assistant at the IPPT where I joined the research team of Prof. Khinast.
Research interests
At the IPPT I’m occupied with research on the development of a continuous crystallizer. As the bulk of active pharmaceutical ingredients are required to be manufactured in the crystalline state the need for a high-throughput crystallizer with excellent process control is eminent. In this context a continuous tubular crystallizer system is designed, allowing tight control of crystal size, shape and structure modifications. Starting from crystallizing acetylsalicylic acid I’m currently working on transferring the process on complex molecules with different properties.
Tools
In order to investigate properties of the crystalline product several analytical methods are used. Size and shape distributions are measured using the Helos® system, which is based on laser diffraction and the QicPic® system which can be implemented for on-line use. Particle transport along the tubular crystallizer is monitored using a PIV high speed camera. For observing shape and surface properties of crystals an automated microscope equipped with a camera and image analysis is at hand. Powder x-ray diffraction and small/wide angle x-ray scattering (SWAXS) are available to analyse cristallinity and polymorphism.
Publications
PURE