| Research
Interests
The research activities of our group lie in the areas
of mass transfer and crystallization, biochemical engineering and benign chemical/pharmaceutical
processing.
The recovery of biochemicals by crystallization
and precipitation is quite common in the bioprocess industry because of their ability to produce
pure products of desired particle size. However, fundamental understanding of the solubility
relations, nucleation rates, growth, kinetics and particle morphology of these complex organics is often
lacking. Current projects involve measurement and correlation of nucleation and growth rates and
phase equilibrium for amino acids and lower molecular weight pharmaceuticals. A particular emphasis
is on the production of fine crystals by very rapid reactive precipitation processes which also
involves experimental characterization and modeling of micromixing phenomena in precipitators.
Finally, the development of new, environmentally benign solvents for organic synthesis and as
precipitants for biochemicals has been under investigatation.
Selected
Publications
X. Wang, J. Gillian and D. J. Kirwan, "Quasi-emulsion Precipitation of Pharmaceuticals: Part II. Application to Control of Polymorphism,” Crystal Growth and Design, 6, 2228-2240, 2006.
X. Wang, J. Gillian and D. J. Kirwan, "Quasi-emulsion Precipitation of Pharmaceuticals:
Part I. Conditions for Formation and Crystal Nucleation and Growth Behavior," Crystal Growth and Design. 6, 2214-2227 (2006).
X. Wang, C. Steward-Ponder, D.J. Kirwan, "Low Molecular Weight PEG as an Environmentally Benign Solvent for Pharmaceutical Crystallization
and Precipitation," Crystal Growth and Design 5, 85-92 (2004).
N.F. Leininger, J.L. Gainer, D.J. Kirwan,
"Effect of Aqueous PEG or PPG Solvents on Reaction Selectivity and Gibbs Energies,"
AIChE J, 50, 1-7 (2004).
N.F. Leininger, R. Clontz, J.L. Gainer, D.J. Kirwan, "Polyethylene Glycol-Water and Polypropylene Glycol-Water Solutions as Benign Reaction
Solvents," Chem. Eng. Commun., 190, 431-443 (2003).
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