Chemical Engineering Professor, Dr. Gerard Capellades, receives NSF Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) Award

The Crystallization Science & Pharmaceutical Engineering (CSPE) group, led by Dr. Gerard Capellades, has received an Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) award from the National Science Foundation. The award covers $199,897 for a two-year project to investigate the effects of lattice impurities on crystal solubility, and how these effects may be leveraged in the design of novel separation processes and for the purification of pharmaceuticals.

The study of particle solubility is critical for the design of chemical processes, even those that do not intend to work with particulates. It is a necessary step in the design of chemical reactors as well as for the separation of valuable products from process impurities. It is also an important step in the design of pharmaceutical formulations, where control of solubility is critical for drug delivery, and a limiting factor for several formulations for food products and supplements.

To investigate solubility gradients in single crystals, Dr. Capellades will use dyes as model impurities, incorporated in otherwise colorless crystals in an anisotropic manner. The project covers the relative contributions of disturbances in solid-state structure, as well as the effects of the surrounding solution on suspended crystals.